BEST OF BOTH WORLDS( HIGH STREET AND LUXURY BRAND COLLABORATIONS)

Branding has become so intertwined with consumption that  today consumers have often deep personal relationships to brands and their associations (Power and Hague 2008).In recent times many high street brands developed a strategy to boost their brand image by collaborating with designers.

The first  popular collaboration was between H&M and Karl lagerfield in 2004. Since then H&M has collaborated with the likes of Stella Mcartney , Viktor & Rolf, Cavalli, Marimekko, Comme des Garçons, Williamson, Choo and Rykiel.  and very recently Marni. other high street brands keyed into co branding trend include Topshop,Gap and New look, River island and Debehams   

There is no doubt  that this collaborations give fashion lovers the opportunity have to own a designer brand. it also serves as an advantage to the designers and high street brands. it give the opportunity for designers to take their brands to the mass market and allows the high street brands to attract new customers.the recent trends towards co branding and linking brands can help the brands enjoy synergy effect (Power and Hague 2008). when a brand collaborates with another brand the knowledge a customer has of the brand changes. the brand image the consumer's form are based on several factors (Ginman et al 2010). as such it is important both brands must research on the brands they want to collaborate with. although people buy the idea of co branding many argue that by reproducing the art work for the masses the original value and authenticity and value of the piece is eroded (Omuruchu2006).