Luxury hotels and fashion: The obsession with collaborations
It's a trend that experts are calling 'resortcore': wearing a garment or accessory embroidered with the insignia of a luxury hotel. While this is not a new trend, in recent months it has become all the rage, radically transforming classic hotel merchandising.
To understand the resortcore phenomenon, we need look no further than the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles, where the hotel's Gift Shop is teaming up with collaborations of all kinds with fashion brands. The boutique is always packed, and guests who come for lunch at the Polo Lounge or to spend a night in the luxury hotel can leave with Orlebar Brown shorts and bags; ready-to-wear from The SIL, an e-commerce site of exclusive offerings by independent fashion designers; silk pyjamas and dresses made with artist Alexandra Nechita and Shhh Silk sleepwear brand; and a sneaker created with the Koio brand.
In West Hollywood, the iconic Sunset Tower Hotel launched its fashion collection in December 2023. A line of vintage-style hoodies and T-shirts created in collaboration with Sporty & Rich brand. A few blocks away, Chateau Marmont sells T-shirts bearing the effigy of its chateau. Le Petit Ermitage, meanwhile, has teamed up with Italian swimwear brand Reina Olga to offer its customers a bikini model called Ginny for diving gracefully into the rooftop pool.
The same trend can be seen in New York, where luxury hotels are multiplying their collaborations. On the Upper East Side, The Mark Hotel has partnered with British pioneer of poolside style, Orlebar Brown, to create exclusive pair of shorts. The star model of the collection, the classic tailored Bulldog swim shorts feature a signature illustration by Jean-Philippe Delhomme of iconic characters at The Mark. The hotel doesn't have a swimming pool, but the item is a collector's item.
Another hotel to join forces with fashion is The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel in the Upper East Side neighborhood, which at the end of 2024 launched its first collection with designer Olivia von Halle, featuring a limited-edition pajama and eye mask cocktail collection that pays homage to the city that never sleeps. This fall, The Bowery Hotel, also in New York, will present its first collaboration with New York brand Lingua Franca, who showed at February's Fashion Week on the hotel's premises.
'Ships in the Night is a reflection of Lingua Franca's ethos: merging beauty and storytelling, sustainability and playfulness,' explained the New York-based brand.
The collection's ready-to-wear pieces 'pair sophistication with irreverence' and draw directly from The Bowery Hotel's rich interiors and history, while their signature hand-embroidered cashmere features messages such as 'joy is an act of resistance' and 'art is the triumph over chaos' to remind us of the power of creativity and connection.
'Over the years, hotels have come to understand the benefits of collaborating with fashion brands. They go beyond classic hospitality and become part of a lifestyle universe. This allows them to remain culturally relevant, to make their brand shine, and to capture a younger, more engaged audience,' explained Eva Nineuil, CCO at The Madison Melle Agency, in Los Angeles.
"The Millenials and Gen-Z generations are looking for aesthetics, narrative and identity through what they consume. And all hotel merchandising makes accessible a universe that generally remains out of reach. Many don't have the budget to spend a night at the Ritz or the Beverly Hills Hotel, but can afford a limited-edition cap and hoodie.'
Following the general trend, other American brands are also exporting their collections to hotels and resorts around the world. In 2021, New York-based Bode, the brand founded by designer Emilie Bode, made a collaboration with the Palm Heights Hotel in the Cayman Islands. The limited-edition project took form in a series of jackets.
Sporty & Rich, created by Emily Oberg, has been multiplying its collaborations with the American hotel group Rosewood over the last few years. The brand has designed collections for the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc in the south of France, and has already signed two collections for the Bristol Paris.
"For me, luxury hotels are such a big part of the lifestyle aspect of the brand. Where you go on holiday, where you stay, what you bring with you, what you do whilst there, it's all relevant and part of the Sporty & Rich lifestyle," explained Oberg to FashionNetwork.com"For me, Sporty & Rich is more than just a brand, it's a world that I've created and curated and aspire to be part of myself, and I think that's what has resonated with others too."
The fast-growing ready-to-wear brand Staud, founded by designer and CEO Sarah Staudinger and boasting eight boutiques in the U.S. and a 9th in West Hollywood, recently joined forces with St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and its hotels in Mexico and Florida. Original to the operation, selected pieces are elegantly presented in-suite for guests to discover at their leisure.
A first collaboration in the world of luxury hotels for the Staud brand known for its West Coast aesthetic and effortlessly chic approach, for which an exclusive resort accessories collection was created, comprising four pieces including tote bag, hat, and two bags all crafted in raffia and embossed Italian calfskin.
'The idea of travel has always been a source of inspiration for me,' said Staudinger. 'St Regis represents some of the world's most iconic destinations, and together we've designed a collection that embodies that sense of adventure, indulgence and style. This capsule collection combines the effortless, modern novelty of Staud with the legendary glamour of St Regis.'
"Resortcore has been a core strategy for decades for European brands like Vilebrequin, Loro Piana, or Missoni. It is part of their lifestyle storytelling and a way to connect with their luxury audience where they are, especially during leisure or business travel," explained Aurelia Ammour, a fashion and luxury strategy consultant.
"These customers are highly captive, they have the time, the mindset, and the budget to enjoy a full experience and to shop. More recent brands like Jacquemus with Four Seasons and Sporty & Rich are following the same path as it plays a key role in both their narrative and business model.'
"To survive and grow, premium brands like Frame or Staud need to expand to a core luxury audience, and resort collaborations are one of the best ways to do that,' continued Ammour. 'It resonates with luxury resorts that have a strong appetite to enrich the hotel experience. These collaborations boost visibility, allow brands to engage guests daily with a brand lifestyle, and can generate additional revenue by creating emotional ties to the travel experience."
Launched in 2021, the first Frame x Ritz Paris collaboration presented a limited-edition capsule collection of apparel and accessories featuring items like cashmere sweaters, signature denim, a gym bag, water bottle, and cashmere blanket.
'A collection designed to evoke the luxury and comfort of staying at The Ritz Paris," explained the brand at the time.
As a sign of the popularity of these special collaborations, the Frame brand launched a pop-up store last December. The special event was dedicated to its collaboration with the Ritz Paris at Galeries Lafayette Paris, followed by another pop-up in Dubai at the Mall of the Emirates.
Four years after its launch, the brand presented a fourth drop focusing on heritage style and high society codes, emphasizing the balance between sport and leisure. In addition to traditional cashmere cardigans, the collection now includes bombers, blazers, wide-leg pants, sweaters, pyjama sets and swimwear.
"Pop-ups and experiential stores in resorts, offer potential for sustainable revenue," concluded Ammour.
"They also act as effective distribution channels, especially for brands as it is part of their narrative. My main concern with what started as a differentiated and effective strategy for marketing and distribution is the risk of saturation. When it becomes repetitive or starts to feel like a cash grab, it loses impact. Less is always more. Brands still need to create strong products, emotional experiences, and narratives to make a real difference."
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