Gifts & Inspiration
WHEN TECH GOES LUXURY: THE BEST COLLABS OF THE 2020's
From Gucci's Oura ring to Balenciaga's Bang & Olufsen speaker bag, these collabs take the win.
With tech innovations being released at a faster pace than ever, and brands worldwide fighting for consumer attention with the latest new gadgets, it comes as no surprise that many of the worlds most iconic fashion houses have jumped on the trend in past years, and teamed up with leaders within the tech industry to create hyper luxury editions of best-selling tech products. With the creative designers of fashion giants teamed up with the innovative leaders of tech companies, many of these products have come out nothing short of must-haves. Let’s take a look at our top picks in luxury tech collaborations for the 2020’s thus far.
1. Gucci x Oura Health Ring
Starting off strong we have the iconic collaboration between fashion giant, Gucci, and a Finnish health-tech brand OURA. The two brands teamed up to create a product for the health conscious style icons, and the result was – of course – nothing short of stunning.
Embossed in Gucci’s iconic emblem, and equipped with all of OURA’s finest features, including heart rate tracking and sleep monitoring, it’s easy to see why this collection sold out as swiftly as it did, and has come back for round two as of recent.
2. Louis Vuitton x Royole
Out of all the tech and designer collaborations we’ve seen, this one between Louis Vuitton and Royole may be the most creative and innovative.
Louis Vuitton reached out to Royole in 2019 to design a set of classic Louis Vuitton bags with the added element of flexible display screens on the sides. These debuted on their Cruise 2020 runway, and needless to say the audience was obsessed with them. The screens displayed various images, some of cityscapes, others or eerie ad like videos. This collaboration was nothing short of a statement, and somehow reminds us of something out of Black Mirror.
3. Balenciaga x Bang & Olufsen
How do they come up with these designs?! Balenciaga’s speaker bag, made in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen for their 51st couture show in Paris, is a truly surprising innovation that merges fashion with tech and “pushes the boundaries” with it’s avant-garde design.
This speaker bag is made from a solid block of aluminium, and actually opens up to feature an inside storage compartment, lined in Balenciaga’s classic lambskin finish.
Bang & Olufsen is a quiet pioneer of the luxury tech industry, with their sleek and contemporary designs paving the way for futuristic home audio and TV systems.
4. Saint Laurent Rive Droite x Neo Legend
How we wish this had been us. Arcade producer Neo Legend teamed up with Parisian fashion house YSL in 2018 to create a collection of mini arcade cabinets, designed in a stylish, yet playful YSL style.
With several prints and editions released, this might be to coolest (yes we’re biased) tech and designer collaboration of the 2020’s. The pair also designed a two player sit down arcade, crafted from wood in a table style with stools.
Check out the collaboration here – the latter collection is still available upon demand if you’re willing to splurge a casual €35,000!
5. Hermès x Apple
From the moment we heard of the release of the Hermès Apple Watch, we haven’t been able to get it off our minds.
These two iconic brands, each known as pioneers within their respective fields, teamed up to provide luxury loving Apple Watch users with a truly exquisite designer alternative to the regular Apple Watch.
The collection consists of not only completely bespoke Hermès Apple Watches, but also Apple Watch straps, complete in classic Hermès colours and various iconic materials.
6. Gucci x Xbox
This is a collaboration that we are shocked to never have heard about before setting out on a quest to find the coolest tech and designer collaborations.
Gucci striked up a partnership with gaming icon, Xbox, to design an Xbox that screams Gucci (in the best way), available for the hyper luxury loving gaming enthusiasts.
Gucci pushed the boundaries of their classic colour palette for this collab, with an eye catching neon green packaging and details in a similarly bright blue and red, to mimic the classic Xbox design users know and love. The carrier bag for this Xbox might be the best part – this would make any game room the coolest one you’ve been in to date.
7. Prada x LG
Although this luxury designer tech collaboration was released already way back in the early 2010’s, we couldn’t miss out on it.
According to The Verge, there are various rumours that the original Prada Phone by LG was in fact the inspiration behind the very first iPhone. Steve Jobs was said to have seen this phone, and integrated elements of it into the iPhone, released just months after.
Although we don’t know if these rumours are true or not, we will say that this Prada Phone is still cool enough that we would rock it in 2024. Embossed in Prada’s signature leather, and featuring their logo throughout, it’s a true “Devil Wears Prada” dream.
8. Leica x A Bathing Ape x Stash
This special limited edition Leica camera, designed in collaboration with A Bathing Ape and Stash was released back in 2022.
It’s simple design, which respects the historical elements of the Leica camera, combined with Bathing Ape’s signature camo print make it a must-have tech accessory for luxury lovers and one of the best tech collaborations of the 2020’s.
With just under 2000 units produced, this limited edition camera has unfortunately sold out – however, Leica is always innovating and finding new ways to engage their loyal users, so we have no doubt some exciting new collaborations are under-way.
