Guess and musican J Balvin return with another collection, Colores, which is out tomorrow. The collection features looks for men, women, and kids! They’ve even created face masks! The Daily recently got on the phone with the mastermind behind the collab, Nicolai Marciano, director of brand partnerships at Guess, to tell us how it all came together.
The collab is super cool and colorful. How did the collaboration come together this time?
Coming off of our first collection last year, Vibras, which was also the title of his album, we stayed in touch with Balvin and connected with him while he was on tour. He’s someone who we consider a close ambassador and friend. We wanted to continue that energy with him. We believe in a lot of his beliefs and what he represents. He’s someone who is promoting positive energy, he’s a global person with a global mindset. He’s always kind of channeling happiness throughout his music and his music videos. That’s someone we want to be aligned with as a brand. It was great this time because we had been deep in the relationship already. His team were very good partners.
How did you originally meet?
We met at Complexcon in 2017. He came by our booth. We met through mutual friends. He has a lot of charisma. He’s a charming person. He was then in LA for his tour at The Forum and he swung by Guess one day to meet us. We went through the archives and went through everything. He was really into the brand. We stayed connected and formed a partnership.
Guess
How involved was he in the design process?
He came to our office multiple times. First we had one big kick off with an inspiration mood board and then other times we’d worked remotely. We’d work on group chats. When he’s in LA, I’ll spontaneously get a text from him that says he’s coming by the office in 20 minutes. He’s super involved and passionate about the process. He appreciates all the elements of fashion and music. He loves fashion and culture. He’s almost like a kid. He’s so excited.
The collection has categories from kids to swimwear to men’s and women’s looks. Was that always the intention?
Last time we did men’s and women’s, which we do for most of our capsules. I’ve been wanting to do kids versions of these collections and special moments we’re doing. More and more, parents want their kids to be fashionable. They want matching looks. I have a 7-year-old sister so perhaps there’s some personal bias in there. Why not? If we can do a collection that covers the whole family 360, I think that’s a really cool opportunity for us.
Do you ever ask your sister for advice ?
Sometimes. She has a sense of style. She’ll wear a dress with Doc Martens. She has her own thing going on. She’ll braid her hair. This generations is also about promoting individuality. I get tips from her on what she likes.
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Your very own focus group! When you are looking for artists to collaborate with Guess. What are you looking for in that person?
We’re looking for someone who has similar values with us. We want to promote a lifestyle brand. We have Guess brands, which has been sexy and empowering the women’s lifestyle and then we have Guess Originals, which is more streetwear focused. It’s about bringing cool products to the younger generation. It all depends for each part of the brand. We want to work with young and cool creatives, who have an interesting perspective and already support the brand before we talk. We’re not really in the business of working with someone to just put their name on the clothes.
What else do you have lined up for the summer?
We have our Guess Originals campaign coming, which launches in August.
Plus! Don’t forget to order your Face Mask!
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