Jul 11, 2024

KAWS in collaboration

Fashion, furniture and food—get to know some of KAWS’s popular brand and artist collaborations

By Wendy So
KAWS x sacai x Nike sneaker

KAWS, Sacai and Nike. Sacai x KAWS Nike Blazer Low (Purple Dusk), 2021. Sneaker, 12.7 × 29.2 × 12.7 cm. © KAWS. Photo: Brad Bridgers

Whether it’s sculpture, drawing, furniture, music, or augmented reality, KAWS’s work is coveted and celebrated for bridging the gap between art and commodity.

In 1995, KAWS worked on one of his first brand collaborations, a T-shirt with NY streetwear brand Subware. His affinity for collaborations continued into the 2000s, when he further diversified his art with clothing, toys and collectable paintings. His early partnerships with Japanese streetwear companies Hectic and Undercover eventually led to collaborations with major brands and retailers like Comme des Garçons, Christian Dior, Supreme and Uniqlo. Today, KAWS taps into various brand collaborations across different industries and products. 

Here are some of KAWS’s collaborations.  

SNEAKERS 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

One of the most recognizable KAWS collaborations is the sneakers produced with luxury Japanese fashion brand sacai and major global sportswear brand Nike. The sneakers launched with four colourways of Nike’s classic Blazer Low shoes, featuring KAWS’s signature XXs on the midsole (image at top). The launch of these shoes concluded the KAWS x sacai Fall/Winter 2021 “Wearable Art” collection, where the artists co-created a collection of garments covered in vibrant colourblocked designs signature to KAWS.  

This collaboration's preparatory colour sketches and designs are on view at the AGO in KAWS: FAMILY.  

FASHION 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

KAWS and Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo teamed up for an exclusive capsule UT Collection in fall 2023, launching in tandem with the release of the Phaidon Contemporary Artist Series’ KAWS book. The unisex collection of sweatshirts and T-shirts launched in stores around the globe. The designs featured KAWS’s signature COMPANION and BFF characters as well as his XX motif and illustrations.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

In 2019, KAWS’s BFF played a prominent role in Artistic Director Kim Jones’s first Dior Homme Spring/Summer collection. Standing 33 feet tall and made of flowers, a pink sculpture of BFF was featured on the Dior Men’s runway at Paris Fashion Week. The collaboration also included custom keychains, plushies and KAWS’s own reimagined version of Hedi Slimane’s Dior Bee. KAWS has teamed up with other luxury fashion brands including Comme Des Garcons. In addition, he has engaged with highly coveted streetwear greats like Bathing Ape, Supreme and Undercover. All of which generated an avid following from both fashion fans and collectors.  

MUSIC 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

KAWS has also collaborated with musicians and other creatives like American multi-hyphenate Kid Cudi, and K-pop phenomenon j-hope of BTS. His vinyl record box j-hope and his work with Kid Cudi, including the Man on the Moon limited edition box set and other related merchandise, are also on view at the AGO. All contain elements of KAWS’s signature iconography.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

Also on display is Kid Cudi’s famous commissioned necklace, designed by KAWS and jeweller Ben Baller. A one-of-a-kind piece made of white gold and diamonds, it features a miniature version of KAWS’s SPACE figure in an astronaut suit. KAWS also depicted another figure in an astronaut suit in a special limited engagement with MTV Video Music Award in 2013. The iconic Moonman trophy received the full KAWS treatment boasting a skull-and-crossbones head and oversized gloves. The sculpture SPACE is also on view in the AGO exhibition.

FOOD 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

As a lover of product design and packaging, in 2021, KAWS collaborated with General Mills to create a pair of cereal box designs for Reese’s Puffs. In the orange design, the COMPANION figure relaxes in a bowl of Puffs. In the blue design, only COMPANION’s gloved hands are visible, flailing out from under the cereal. For its launch, KAWS brought the exclusive designed boxes to grocery store shelves for a limited time. Following the success of the first collaboration in 2022, KAWS teamed up with General Mills again to release four limited edition cereal box designs of Franken Berry, Count Chocula, Boo-Berry and Frute Brute. 

Both original designs of Reese’s Puffs, in the form of large-scale paintings, are on view now at the AGO in the form of large-scale paintings. 

The cereal boxes became a launchpad for KAWS’s first augmented reality game with Acute Art. The game KAWSPUFFS invited players to “break” pieces of cereal raining from the sky to save COMPANION from falling into a cup of Reese’s Puffs. KAWS and Acute Art teamed up again for KAWS: FAMILY at the AGO, with AR sculptures in Galleria Italia (gallery 223).  

FURNITURE  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by @kaws

This unusual sofa is the brainchild of KAWS and Estúdio Campana, a Brazilian design company founded by brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana. Like KAWS, Estúdio Campana investigates ideas of reinvention and transformation through design and use of unconventional materials. In this instance, they are plush-toy adaptations of characters from the children’s television mainstay Sesame Street. The five Muppet characters KAWS includes in GANG SOFA—Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird—are some of the show’s most recognizable characters.  

Explore the world of KAWS including some of his brand collaborations in KAWS: FAMILY, on view on Level 2 of the AGO in Signy Eaton Gallery (gallery 224), Galleria Italia (gallery 223) and Al Green Gallery (gallery 252) until August 5, 2024. Organized by the AGO, the exhibition is curated by Julian Cox, AGO Deputy Director and Chief Curator. 

 

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