Garance = an illustrator extraordinaire and an accidental, unassuming part of the bloggersphere’s most powerful “it” couple. Garance inspires me to blog better. This post isn’t really about the person but the work, specifically Garance’s collaboration with Gap 1969; a celebration of 40 years of the denim giant. I waited patiently for her t-shirts to appear on Colette’s e-shop this weekend and snapped up one immediately, despite it possibly not being my size. I then paused after my impetuous click/purchase – had I been drawn into the hype or was I genuinely enamoured with Garance’s work. I thought of the other designer collaborations that have caused such frenetic hype. The most obvious and recent has to be that of Christopher Kane for Topshop. There were some fantastic pieces but one dominated, the crocodile dress and t-shirt (Street Peeper’s montage, although humorous, made me CRINGE!) The concept is admirable, affordable designer fashion but when it becomes so ubiquitous, doesn’t it lose that unique element that makes it stylish? Kate Moss’ Topshop collections can’t go unmentioned; they photograph well but lack a sense of quality or originality in person. One of the collabs I remember the most was Viktor & Rolf‘s for H&M. I scoured eBay for one of their heart pocket trenches, only to suddenly realise, as I contemplated handing over £200 that the only feature I lusted after was the heart-shaped appliqué. So back to my original question, have I been blinded by my fanaticism for Garance into buying one of her t-shirts? The conclusion I have reached is a definite NO. How can I answer so defiantly? I just realised I have NEVER bought any design collaboration pieces before, not one and I must return to my original point; this is not about the person, it’s about the work. Je vais essayer d’écrire mon blog plus en français – si Garance peut le faire (même avec l’aide d’un traducteur) je peux le faire aussi.