manager_1 Cool collectibles at a fraction of the cost are attracting new customers for big brands.
You thought stickers were only for children’s books and playgrounds? Think again. Branded stickers are now a sought-after item in the fashion industry. You can use them to attach your label to laptops or lunchboxes to show an affinity for the brand at a fraction the price of its products.
Skateboard brand Palace has released their winter sticker pack. It sold out in less than an hour. Other rare versions, like a single Supreme x Playboy sticker that can be resold online for as high as PS200, are being offered by big fashion brands.
Calvin Klein Jeans recently made stickers using a classic 1980s image by Richard Avedon of Brooke Shields, while the fashion brand Coach has produced leather stickers, and Berlin’s hip o32c magazine featured sticker sheets from Louis Vuitton’s creative director, Virgil Abloh. A partnership between the luggage manufacturer Rimowa and Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson yielded a limited edition of suitcase stickers that sold out immediately.
Dominik Pollin, owner of Idea, Dover Street Market bookstore, said, “It shows that you’re part of subculture.”
Michael Kopelman, managing director at Stussy, said: “It’s fun. They can be put on your car, or in your lunchbox. It’s like tagging. It’s not something most people will notice, but those who are curious do.”
Flyers and stickers are not allowed in public places in England or Wales by the councils, but they are appearing more frequently on billboards and lampposts throughout the country.
Alex Powis is the co-founder and CEO of Stickerarchive. This online collection contains popular graphics. It’s almost like coded messages.
Stickers were traditionally not available for purchase by fashion labels but they have now become an affordable way to get in touch with a brand. Powis said that there has been an increase in streetwear interest lately, and stickers have become a key part of these cultures.
Sarah Andelman is a collector and the founder of Colette in France. She said that she has three boxes full of different stickers, which she started keeping at the age of 15.
Supstickers is an Instagram account that indexes and resells stickers. It has more than 50,000 fans. Edson Sabajo is the CEO of Patta Dutch streetwear brand. He said that sticker enthusiasts were participating in decades-old hobby of collecting.
“Ours refer to the most recent graphics and give you an approximate time frame.” He explained that they are always changing. “People collect them all.”
Others agree that this trend signals a shift away from the internet to a DIY approach. James Lavelle, an electronic musician, said that he has been creating more stickers in the past few months. “There is something about physical items that is the opposite of a massive digital marketing campaign. They have an authenticity.”
