The Sportswear Giant x Luxury Brand Mash Up

Key Takeaways 

• Both brands tapped in retro athleisure and tenniscore trends, which were among the hottest spring and summer 2022 trends
• The two luxury brands adopted the same strategy of giving a major focus to ready to wear in their collaborations in comparison to their core collection
• Jacquemus x Nike’s pricing stand at a lower rate than Jacquemus’ core collection, whereas Gucci x Adidas is more expensive than Gucci’s core collection when it comes to the same products with the addition of an Adidas logo 

Fashion brands are no stranger to collaborations, which are increasingly present in collections today. Collaborations enable brands to both tap into a wider audience but also create brand hype. They help create buzz and allow a brand’s popularity to skyrocket, proven in the Lyst Index Q2 report, which showed that 4 out of the 10 hottest products of the quarter in womenswear came from brand collaborations, and 3 out of 10 within menswear. 

Moreover, collaborations enable a brand to tap into a new market. In the case of Gucci and Jacquemus, the two luxury brands collaborated with sportswear giants Adidas and Nike to gain a share of the athleisure market, which became increasingly profitable following the pandemic. From 2021 to 2028, the worldwide athleisure market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.9%, from $ 411.02 billion in 2021 to $ 793.46 billion.

Do you want to gain access to the retail strategies behind the most buzzworthy collaborations? Dive into Retviews’ article and find out how a competitive intelligence platform can help your brand tackle collabs.

Hopping on the Retro Athletic Attire Trend 

The Adidas X Gucci collection was first unveiled during Gucci’s fashion show in Milan, in September 2021. The collection was then made available to shoppers on June 7, 2022. For Gucci this collaboration is a means to appeal to a wider audience and to drive newness, and it also allowed the brand to dethrone Balenciaga and earn the title of hottest brand in the latest Lyst Index report. 

The gender mix of the collaboration is mostly balanced, with womenswear being slightly more prominent, representing 57% of the assortment. 

As Retviews’ data shows, there is a larger focus on ready to wear in the capsule collection than in the core one, as the latter has both more 77% more accessories and 27% more leather goods. 

The most prominent categories in the collaboration are accessories and leather goods, of which the first is mainly made up of hats and jewelry, both making up 22% of the assortment. Within leather goods, belts and travel bags are the most prominent items, while the collaboration bottoms’ assortment is split heavenly between shorts and long pants. 

Out of the Gucci x Adidas shoe assortment, the more prominent category is sneakers, making up 43% of the collection, of which the Adidas x Gucci Gazelle sneakers were second in the Lyst Index’s ranking of the hottest womenswear products of the quarter.

The Secrets Behind the Gucci x Adidas’ Pricing Strategy

The Gucci x Adidas collection is no exception to the pink tax, with the average price for menswear being $ 1509, while for women is $ 1818, which is a price difference of +20%. Gucci is known for its quality and the use of prestigious fabrics, which implies having a high price point. If one analyzes Gucci’s entire collection and compares its prices to the Gucci x Adidas collection, it’s clear that the latter is cheaper.

As Retviews data show, Gucci’s core collection has a higher average price in most assortment categories. As a matter of fact, compared to the core Gucci Collection, the Gucci x Adidas collab’s accessories, bottoms, outerwear, and tops have an average price that is consistently lower (18%, 4%, 16% and 20% lower, respectively). This can be explained in part by Gucci’s use of luxurious and exotic fabrics in its core collection, which are not present in the capsule collection. 

However, when using Retviews data to compare prices on items that exist and are the same within both the core collection and the collaboration, the addition of an Adidas logo makes the Gucci x Adidas collection is more expensive. The same necklace which exists in both the core collection and the collaboration, with the sole difference of the logos, is 114% more expensive in the Gucci x Adidas capsule. The same thing holds for socks, which are 34% more expensive within the collab collection. 

As shown by Retviews’ data, the entry, average and the highest price (when considering only items present in both collections) is higher for the Gucci x Adidas collection. The largest difference in price is for sandals, whose entry price is 94% higher. 

“Tenniscore Trend” Inspired Apparel

The Jacquemus x Nike 15-item collaboration dropped on the website on June 28 and was sold out almost immediately. The collection is meant for every body type, its sizes ranging from 2XS to 2XL. It is the perfect mix between Jacquemus style and Nike’s performance collection as the majority of the clothes have a dry fit fabric. By delving deeper into Retviews data, it was seen that 67% of the collection was made using recycled polyester (its composition ranging from 31% to 100%).

The tenniscore trend is at the center of this entire collection and Jacquemus’ reinterpretation of the Humara sneaker, signs the first and only sneakers made by Jacquemus.

Having a similar pattern to the Gucci X Adidas strategy, the capsule collection has a major focus on ready to wear, compared to the core collection. One reason for this is that luxury brands are characterized by having a focus on leather goods. As shown by Retviews data, the collaboration’s color assortment is composed of only 3 colors:  navy, white and off-white.

Creative Synergies at a Lower Price Point

As opposed to Gucci’s strategy, the price point for Jacquemus collaboration is lower compared to the brand's core collection. Was this done on purpose to differentiate from other brands collaborations or to relate more to Nikes’ original target market? The Jacquemus x Nike collaboration ranges from a maximum price of $ 175 to an entry price of $ 40, allowing accessibility to clients with different purchasing power.

As shown by Retviews’ data, the category with the highest price variation is dresses, with the collaboration having an 82% lower price point than the core collection. On the other hand, brassieres varied the least in terms of pricing. 

Avoid the Guesswork and Develop a Successful Collaboration Strategy with Retviews

On one hand collaborations may help a brands’ increase popularity, but on the other hand, if badly carried out, may decrease a brand’s profitability, and increase their leftover stock on items that could quickly lose relevancy in the market. Take advantage of AI to track your competitors’ strategy, spot the hottest trends to release the right collection at the right time and therefore optimize your margins.