Collaborations are like opinions—everyone seems to have one, but in a world full of them, is it easy to crown a clear winner? The answer is probably no, but we can definitely try. In my view, a good collaboration isn’t necessarily about the brand names that chose to work together but more about the story, execution, and of course the clothes. A lot of them will have at least one of these characteristics, but there comes a time when brands might fall short and it ends up feeling like a simple logo slap that was driven by hype.
I think it’s fair to say that recounting all of the great work from this year may not be easy, especially if you didn’t actively track this data throughout (something I didn’t really do myself either). Come 2023, I’m thinking of implementing a system that will track all releases, trend data, and whatever else that might be of interest. From there, I’ll be able to consolidate and use this data to give you proper end-of-the-year lists.
I did write a newsletter recently highlighting some of my personal favorite collaborations of 2022, which you can check out here. But even this newsletter wasn’t that easy to write because recalling all of the collaborations in a day or so is not as easy as it might sound. I need data that’ll help me narrow down my answers, and hopefully, this new system that I mentioned above will do the trick.
AND NOW FOR THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR…
Engineered Garments, Beams, Supreme, Stussy, and Our Legacy, are just some of the brands that come to mind when discussing who can be considered for the collaborator of the year, or COTY for short. But if I had to choose, and of course, this is just a personal opinion, Palace Skateboards should be crowned the winner. Landing big-name brands to work with is one thing, but executing and designing clothes that are good and fun to wear is a whole different ball game.
Before we dive into what made Palace stand out for me, let’s take a walk down memory lane to better understand the work they’ve been putting in to get to where they are today:
Palace x Adidas (2018)
While Palace and Adidas are no strangers when it comes to working together, their tennis-themed collection that dropped in 2018 was a turning point for Palace. What ended up being one of the craziest streetwear events of that year, Palace x Adidas was seen worn by athletes in the 2018 Wimbledon Tournament—a prestigious event that has some of the most strict attire rules in sports.
Palace x Ralph Lauren (2018)
Quite possibly one of their most iconic works, in my opinion, was the Ralph Lauren x Palace collaboration. I feel like this was a moment where Palace as a brand became more mature and was seen in a different light. This massive collection came alongside an amazing editorial, which featured a horse hurdling over Palace’s iconic Volkswagen Golf GTI MK2. On top of that, the clothes were well-rounded and it overall felt like a perfect brand link-up.
Palace x Juventus (2019)
Different takes on the soccer jersey are something we saw a lot from Palace’s seasonal collections, and after hearing about them working with Juventus on an official kit felt just right. This was a huge moment for not just Palace but skateboarding in general, and seeing someone like Ronaldo wearing a Palace x Juventus kit felt surreal.
Palace x Stella Artois (2021)
Perhaps this wasn’t as crazy as I’d like to think, but what was cool was seeing Palace have an opportunity to change an entire pub into the Palace Artois theme—this type of activation isn’t necessarily about the clothes, but I really enjoyed that they went out of their way to create something for the fans of the brand to enjoy in person.
As you can see, Palace has been putting in work. And without further ado—let’s talk about this year’s collaborations and why I decided to crown them as the COTY.
Every brand will have its misses when it comes to releases in general. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference in deeming something as good or bad, and honestly, there were definitely a few drops that I thought weren’t as good, and that’s ok. However, the overall humorous vibe that Palace has had since the beginning, the recent branding pivot—less trifergs, and smaller branding on clothes—and the big names they’ve already worked with in the past, ended up playing a huge part in their success.
Palace’s 2022 lineup consisted of a lot of big names including Elton John, Calvin Klein, Mercedes AMG, Rapha, Engineered Garments, New Balance, Y-3, Gucci, C.P. Company, as well as the recurring partnerships with Umbro, Reebok, and Adidas. They even secured a spot in EA’s Need For Speed: Unbound with a range of Palace-themed cars as well as in-game apparel for your character.
One thing that stands out to me about Palace is the continued use of humor throughout their work—this is something that has always been part of their brand identity and is something that can be seen in their product descriptions (which have now been made into a book that you can buy), social media captions, or even the way they respond to comments. Some might think it’s rude, and to them I say, loosen up and learn how to take a joke!
Many brands will announce their collaborations with a simple editorial, but where Palace shines is through their videos. Usually filled with creativity and amazing music, these videos set the tone and are there to remind us to have fun and to not take things so seriously. For this reason, it makes me appreciate Palace even more—Palace is having fun, and you should too!
One of the strongest and possibly my favorite collaboration of the 2022 has to be with Engineered Garments. It’s rare for me to like every single item in a drop, and I think that’s totally normal, but this one was different because it was really well executed in a way that combined the uniqueness and vibe of both brands to create this collection—the lack of branding and no trifergs was the best move Palace could have made.
Getting to work with a brand like Calvin Klein is already sick enough, but getting someone like Willem Dafoe to model in your lookbook is absolutely next level. It’s small details like this that end up elevating these collections, and even though Willem might have nothing to do with this specific collaboration, seeing him in the marketing rollout was a cool moment for everyone.
I think that the actual pieces were ok. Nothing too crazy, but it makes sense since this is Calvin Klein, and they are not really known for doing things out of the box—they have a formula and they follow it. When looking at this in general, the clothes are what we are talking about, and while maybe this particular collection of clothing wasn’t the strongest, it’s the entire package together that made it stand out to me. When considering the entire picture then—yeah, the Calvin collab definitely deserves its flowers.
C.P. Company x Palace came out at the buzzer right before the end of the year and it was just as strong as their work with Engineered Garments. Honestly, it’s really up there for me as another collection that featured a lot of great clothing that I can wear for a long time without becoming bored.
C.P. Company is quality first, and from my experience, I have nothing but great things to say about the brand. Another cool thing about this partnership is getting Diemme to land a hand in creating a lineup of boots that you know are going to be killer. Diemme’s boots are always top quality, and it was exciting to see that they got some proper help rather than trying to make their own boot and possibly not doing it well.
Y-3 x Palace was another amazing moment for the brand. While there were some great pieces in this collection, the real moment was seeing Zinedine Zidane hang out with Lucas Puig—🐐 x 🐐! There’s a pretty fun video that came along with the announcement which features Puig and Zidane chilling in a pretty nice home, chatting, kicking the ball around, and even skating—Zidane rips!! The ending was especially funny to me, and is the perfect example of how Palace’s humor is used at a perfect time—As the hang out comes to an end, Puig escorts Zidane out of the house, suggesting that this absolutely massive place belongs to Puig. Maybe it does, who knows ;)
Looking back at it now, the collection itself featured some really great items: reversible souvenir jackets, jerseys, and even a Y-3 x Palace-branded soccer ball. I know I’ve said it already, but again we need to give Palace credit where credit is due—I believe they really honed their branding and this year was proof of that.
Probably the biggest partnership for Palace in 2022 and possibly maybe ever(?) was linking up with Gucci—shout out to Supreme for this, because their link up with Louis Vuitton in 2017 really paved the way for streetwear and skateboarding brands in general to have an opportunity to work with high-fashion houses.
This collaboration really combined the craziness and playfulness of both brands in order to deliver some epic visual moments. Definitely recommend watching the promotional video if you haven’t already, it’s filled with some outrageous scenes, flying houses, and even aliens!
Palace x Gucci may not be for everyone, and honestly, there were definitely items that I didn’t like. But again, their marketing rollout and the video that was filled with funny yet weird moments ended up blending perfectly—it just felt right! I mean, they literally made an entire Palace x Gucci-themed motorcycle. I know that’s not something new and we’ve seen this type of item in the past, but it’s still kind of epic. Is this collection for the average person? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean we can’t sit back and enjoy the show.
Despite the different brands that Palace has worked with, they still managed to keep their wacky, amusing identity at the core of each collaboration. Because of this, the overall execution, and for the most part the clothes themselves, I think it’s more than deserving to name Palace as the COTY. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of great collaborators this year, but with everything said and done, Palace stands at the top for me.
Being able to mix Palace’s uniqueness with another brand’s identity is not an easy task, especially when you’re working with such a diverse portfolio of brands that range anywhere from an activewear company to a high-fashion house. Looking back at their partnerships, it’s clear that they’ve proven their ability to adapt and deliver exciting campaigns and clothes that will be remembered for a long time.