Repetto and Yohji Yamamoto go for a third
The ballet shoemaker and the Japanese designer released a reworked Bolchoï flat and loafer hybrid on September 14.
Repetto and Yohji Yamamoto released their third collaboration on September 14: a reimagined Bolchoï that blends a ballet flat with a loafer, in cherry red, black, and metallic silver, according to The Zoe Report.
Three collaborations is a relationship. A first collab is a test, and a second is a repeat order. By the third, both brands have enough evidence to know the audience shows up. That is a reasonable read of the pattern, though neither brand has published sales figures.
The design is the interesting part. The Bolchoï is a ballet shoe with a fixed reputation, and combining it with a loafer gives both brands something to sell that neither would ship alone. A hybrid also solves a shopper problem: two shoes' worth of outfits for one pair's worth of closet.
Colors matter here. Cherry red, black, and metallic silver span a bold pick, a safe pick, and a shiny pick, which is how you sell one silhouette to three kinds of buyers.
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Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
