2022 CLAIR REPORT
Collaborations Make
Great Investments
By The Rebag Team, Oct. 25, 2022
Have you lusted after a luxury collabo?
Luxury collaborations — think Telfar x Ugg, Fendace, and the Balenciaga and Gucci Hacker Project — make excellent investments often carrying more than their retail value on the secondary market.
Two brands are better than one! Overall, collaborations are excellent investments because of their high demand and limited supply. The most sought-after partnerships yield a high return on investment, with the majority averaging a value retention of over 100%.
Brand Spotlight: Balenciaga
Balenciaga is having a particularly good year with a steady output of out-there yet buzzworthy releases and supporters like Kim Kardashian who keep the French luxury label in the media spotlight. Just this summer Balenciaga presented its Spring/Summer 2023 collection at the New York Stock Exchange, released the second drop of Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga, and had stars like Kardashian and Nicole Kidman walk the Winter 2023 Couture show in July. The brand’s creative director Demna Gvasalia has a knack for the subversive and irreverent, elevating mundane, everyday items into sought-after luxury accessories. Let’s not forget about the Extra Destroyed sneakers, the $1,790 calfskin leather trash bag, or the black bow shoelace earrings that caused a stir among the label’s many fans. Kanye West and Gvasalia have a close relationship, joining forces for Yeezy Gap by Balenciaga before the rapper parted ways with the brand. Most recently Ye opened Balenciaga’s post-apocolyptic Spring/Summer 2023 show.
Gucci and Balenciaga may not want you to call it a collaboration, but The Hacker Project collection is a secondary market star, outperforming the French brand’s other styles according to Clair data. The dual logo-adorned pieces of particular note are the The Hacker Project Duffle Bag and Tote, retaining 98% and 121% of retail value at resale, respectively, showing just how much of an effect a collaboration can have on a luxury item’s value.
The Winners
Telfar Collaborations
Telfar collaborations with Ugg, Eastpak, and Moose Knuckles are also resale winners, retaining an average of 148% to 211% of their original price on the secondary market.
Luxury Collaborations
The partnership between artist Daniel Arsham and Kim Jones at Christian Dior, the combination of two Italian powerhouse brands resulting in Fendace, and Louis Vuitton x Nigo, the collection by the late Virgil Abloh and the Japanese designer, are all among the luxury collaborations showing strong value retention this year. Below are the average value retention percentages for six high-performing collaborations.
