I love a great brand collaboration. It has grown into an obsession ever since the Lilly Pulitzer x Target debacle of 2015. Given that I have written about Pendleton x Gap, Karl Lagerfeld Paris x Long Tall Sally (twice! thrice!), Lilly Pulitzer x S’well, Lilly Pulitzer x Goop (twice!), Lilly Pulitzer x Pottery Barn, Vineyard Vines x Target, Tory Burch x Kenneth Jay Lane, Issa x Banana Republic, Prabal Gurung x J.Crew, Hunter x Target, Kate Spade x Beyond Yoga (twice!), New Balance x J.Crew, Draper James x Jack Rogers, and the list goes on and on, I was jazzed to read about Opening Ceremony‘s collaborations. First it was Esprit and then Birkenstock and as I found out today, a second season of the latter as well as collaborations with two classic gorpcore brands.
Last summer Opening Ceremony collaborated with Birkenstock on a capsule collection of Arizona sandals and Boston clogs. I would have indulged in the collection but I have a pair of glitter Arizona sandals that have barely even been broken in. I came of age in the late 1990s to the early 2000s and these styles were especially popular among those at my public high school so even if I did not indulge in the product, I indulged in the nostalgia.
Though it may technically fall into normcore, I consider Birkenstock to be gorpcore. Perhaps it is because the sandals go so well with the outdoor staples. The Opening Ceremony / Birkenstock collaboration opened up a Pandora’s Box of bookmarking the best iterations of the sandals. Neon, iridescent, glitter, hologram, metallic, and animal print, Birkenstock served up all peacocking variations.
I am also loving the Marmot and Columbia collaborations with Opening Ceremony. While I resisted falling down a rabbit hole – this time – I rounded up my favorite items.
Are you as obsessed with collaborations as I am?
Is this an ailment that only affects me?
Sound off in the comments.
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