Why designer’s artist merchandise is the hottest trend of the season?
by Valerio Coretti

This now everyday-growing phenomenon is not completely new. To understand where it comes from we have to get back to 2012. That was the year of “Watch the Throne”, Kanye West and Jay Z memorable collaborative album and tour. In that occasion Riccardo Tisci, creative director of historied French house Givenchy, was asked to design the cover of the album, the tour merch and the onstage outfits for the two artists. The merch then was also put on sale by some of most renowned luxury retailers. That was the very first time in fashion history an artist merch transcended his role and became something more. Before that time no one would have ever put and artist t-shirt in a luxury retail selection, because it would have sounded ridiculous.

We have again to praise Kanye West for having transformed his merchandise (and merchandise in general) into something worth matching with designer garments.
This was also thanks to Kanye diehard fans that started wearing his tour t-shirts with high-end pieces that characterize KW style.

One of the biggest phenomenon developers today is Jerry Lorenzo, designer for the cult brand Fear of God. He started printing the “Fear of God” logo over vintage hard rock and heavy metal bands t-shirts and called them “Resurrected Rock Tees”. He was maybe inspired by the hard ‘n heavy looking t-shirts made by Balenciaga and Dsquared some years earlier. However the “Resurrected Rock Tees” idea was a huge success. These t-shirt (retailed for around $800) are always sold out in few hours and become rare piece for fashion collectors.

This year Jerry Lorenzo decided to bring the whole thing to another level, designing all the merchandise for Justin Bieber “Purpose Tour”. Needless to say, the success was guaranteed.
We could also speculate that Jerry used Bieber merch as substitute of a diffusion line.
In fact all “Pourpose Tour” pieces are heavily influenced by Fear of God aesthetic and vintage rock style graphics, but are considerably less expansive than any of the Jerry Lorenzo designs.
Then there is Rihanna whose last tour merch is so fashion inspired that made its appearance in many fashion bloggers and victims instagram profiles.


Last but not least there is Denma Gvasalia with his Snoop Dog 90’s tee rip-off that made the internet talk.
This is maybe the hottest trend of the season and we already know that it won’t stop, but it’s not a coincidence that this phenomenon is exploding just now.

Music and fashion today need one each other to keep their market profitable.
Artists use fashion to make their public image stronger and fashion houses use artists to make their audience wider. That’s the fashion game nowadays.
In hard times only cooperation can guarantee survival and growth. So we must prepare for more and more.

CHASIN’ Fall/Winter 2016 Campaign
The first KENZO x H&M looks
actual
Why designer’s artist merchandise is the hottest trend of the season?
previous
CHASIN’ Fall/Winter 2016 Campaign
next
The first KENZO x H&M looks
Francisco Terra’s 15th-anniversary collection for Maldito is a midnight ride through memory, a fever dream of teenage longing stitched into lace and rhinestones.
LARUICCI’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection bottles the chaotic charm of early 2000s Hollywood.
PRISMA’s latest collection isn’t about hiding but about what happens when you stop trying to.
In a time of movement and uncertainty, Estelita Mendonça’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection questions what clothing means when stability feels like a luxury.
We talked with Ziggy Chen to learn more about the thinking behind PRITRIKE, his process and his relationship with materials.
Take a look at C.R.E.O.L.E’s Spring/Summer 2026 backstage, captured by the lens of Spencer Stovell during Paris Fashion Week, in exclusive for Fucking Young!
Glenn Martens’ Maison Margiela Artisanal collection doesn’t just borrow from history, but it fractures it, reassembles it, and wears it like a second skin.
This weekend, Eastpak reminded us that backpacks aren’t just carriers of belongings – they’re carriers of stories, creativity, and identity
For Spring/Summer 2026, A. A. Spectrum finds inspiration in quiet moments, the natural ease of creativity, and the unforced beauty of renewal.
For Spring/Summer 2026, AV Vattev’s Bohème collection takes its cues from two iconic worlds: the effortless cool of French New Wave cinema and the raw energy of British music subcultures.
Concrete Husband talks about turning psychological collapse into industrial soundscapes, confronting darkness on Berghain’s dancefloor, and why dark techno is, above all, sexy.
Maciej Poplonyk photographed by Arthur Iskandarov and styled by Egor Telenchenko, in exclusive for Fucking Young! Online.
Titled “YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE,” the visuals strip away ambiguity, trading fantasy for sharp, cinematic storytelling.
We met Yoon Ambush – Co-founder and Creative Director of AMBUSH – in Paris during Men’s Fashion Week.
Les Benjamins has turned its attention to the tennis court with a new collection that mixes sport and style.
GUESS JEANS has officially arrived in Tokyo, opening its first Asian flagship store in the heart of the city’s fashion district.
WHOLE is a pilgrimage for the global queer community, a temporary world where joy, radical acceptance, and self-expression reign supreme.
Alexis Otero captured by the lens of Lucas Lei, in exclusive for Fucking Young! Online.
Levi’s® is celebrating Oasis’ long-awaited reunion with a new collection that combines the band’s iconic style with classic denim.
There’s no bitterness in the heartbreak here, just the sense that longing isn’t defeat, but proof you’re alive.
We had the chance to catch up with Ohio-born, Brooklyn-based designer Kody Phillips in his Paris Fashion Week showroom where he unveiled his Spring/Summer 2026 collection.
Dean and Dan doubled down on their love of fashion’s most dramatic moments, remixing 80s power dressing, 90s grunge, and 2000s excess into something entirely their own.
Gerrit Jacob’s latest collection, GAME OVER, isn’t about surviving the wild but about surviving the grind.
Telekom Electronic Beats (TEB) and 032c are turning 25, and they’re celebrating with a capsule collection and an installation by Harry Nuriev. Titled All is Sound.
Cult Korean menswear brand THUG CLUB teamed up with designer IZZY DU for an unforgettable dinner and afterparty at the mythical Lapérouse during Paris Fashion Week.
Jonathan Anderson has always treated fashion like a carefully assembled collection, mixing the unexpected, trusting his instincts, and binding it all together with a strong point of view.
The Palau Reial de Pedralbes provided the perfect backdrop as IED Barcelona unveiled its 21st Fashioners of the World showcase.
This season, Camper unveils its first collaboration with ISSEY MIYAKE’s Peu Form, designed by Satoshi Kondo.
A collection that exudes freshness, confidence, and a desire to write a new page in the history of the Maison.
“Poison Ivy” tells the story of a transfer student’s dangerous fixation with his school’s golden boy.