Commercializing artistic authenticity via collaborative design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of the artist’s authentic identity in fashion design and art collaborations and evaluate the efficiency of collaborative brand projects. Design/methodology/approach – Through the case study approach, this paper explores the attempts of Adidas to create authenticity by teaming up with artists. It also investigates consumer attitudes toward the brand’s collaborative projects via a questionnaire survey. Findings – Authenticity can be understood in two general aspects: conceptual forms and incarnate forms. Within the value system of authenticity, Adidas’ collaborative projects and diverse promotional strategies are to a large degree consistent with consumer aspirations. Nonetheless, the factors that contribute to authenticity via conceptual (e.g. originality, exclusivity) and incarnate forms (e.g. creative process, final designs) occupy different positions in the consumer’s mind. This study also reveals that when a brand intends to launch such artistic collaborations, the selection of art style should be treated as an important issue, because specific consumer groups tend to have inclinations toward specific art forms. Research limitations/implications – More cases should be examined to enable the theory to be generalized to other artistic collaboration practices. Originality/value – As a pioneering effort in this field, this paper explores the application of artistic authenticity to the fashion world via a collaboration with fashion brands. More importantly, it examines the efficiency of such collaborations and the roles that diverse forms of authenticity play in consumers’ minds.