Congratulations to a renowned Nigerian Artist, Wizkid, who recently collaborated with Nike in designing a jersey.
As a brand, you might want to collaborate with top brands like Nike, Adidas, Air Jordan David Tule, Tiffany Amber, Mai Atafo, H&M and so on. You might be asking yourself “How can I get a fashion partnership?”
In order to get such collaboration you need to be fully ready. The Number of fashion SMEs in Africa keeps increasing daily, that’s good for the economy, for new entrepreneurs, it only spells out more competition for customers, investors and media attention. Thus , it is clear why some fashion entrepreneurs have the interest in collaboration.
You need to build your business resumè, in order to get any attention from any top brand.
To promote your brand and to build your resume, you can consider collaborating with Small Companies, Small retail stores, fashion bloggers, websites…
Pharrel Williams didn’t start his career collaborating with Addidas.
Drake’s Ovo brand didn’t start their clothing line with a Air Jordan’s partnership..
As you build relationships with some other small brands, then you can think about sending messages to Top brands via email or even going to their companies.
You need to ask yourself some questions before taking the bold step:
–What value does your brand have to offer?
-Do you have an audience that would be of interest to this top brand?
-Do you have a signature look? Is your work exceptional?
-Do you have a network of people which would be of interest to this top brand?
-What makes your brand stand out?
In a discussion with Hypebeast(hypebeast.com), Mark Parker, Nike CEO stated :
“We are privileged to work in the world of sport because our source of inspiration…the athlete..never stop progressing. No Athlete wakes up and thinks, Today I want to perform the same as I did yesterday, it is always about getting better, which means we will always have a problem to solve our job is never done..”
Personally, I believe that Wizkid got the opportunity to design his fan base jersey because of his tenacity and his continuous growth in the music industry.
In order to get to the top, There is a need to be persistent and humble ; collaborate with fashion style bloggers, social media platforms, retail store, fashion blogs, don’t limit yourself.
“Do not despise these small beginnings…”
To all the Fashion SMEs in Africa , fashion partnership can be a gold mine or it can be an empty mine, There is a need to be ready; Have an objective (define what you want out of parternship), know what you are bringing to the table, Make sure goals align and Be patient.
Congratulations to the Star Boy….
“Collaboration is a powerful strategy for unlocking new opportunities for Nike. I firmly belI’ve that our future potential will be based on large part on our ability to collaborate with the right partner in the right way” -Mark Parker, Nike CEO