His designs sent China into a buying frenzy: US artist Kaws and his 20 years of collaborations

Nike, Dior, Uniqlo, Shu Qi, Edison Chen, Comme des Garcons: the list of his collaborators goes on and on

Kaws’ designs are hugely popular in China, for collectors and investors who resell the items for huge profits

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Dior’s collaboration with Kaws for spring 2019. The artist’s collaboration with Uniqlo caused stampedes in China.

Published: 12:45pm, 9 Jun 2019Updated: 12:45pm, 9 Jun 2019

American artist and designer Kaws, whose collaboration with Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo sparked a frenzy among customers in China last week, has been no stranger to fashion tie-ups since he rose to prominence about 20 years ago.

The collections have boosted the profile of Kaws, 45, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, and the bank balances of buyers who have been reselling the limited-edition items for a profit.

Kaws’ cross-eyed characters are derived from cartoon icons such as Snoopy, Mickey Mouse and The Simpsons. Starting out as a graffiti artist, he initially painted his figures on hoardings, bus stops and photo booths, but they soon became staples of T-shirts, toys and other products in commercial collaborations with brands.

Customers stampeded into Chinese branches of Uniqlo last Monday to snap up 99-yuan (US$14.30) T-shirts and other items designed by Kaws. They were later seen on Chinese resale app, Du, going for as much as 799 yuan. Kaws’ street wear style is particularly popular with the younger, tech-savvy generation.

Kaws has collaborated with a host of other popular brands to create lines, including A Bathing Ape, Undercover, Medicom Toy, Supreme, Nike, Comme des Garcons, Nigo, Jun Takahashi and Michael “Mic” Neuman.

One of the artist’s earliest tie-ins began in 2002 when he produced a series or vinyl, bearlike figures for the Be@rbrick brand of Japan’s Medicom Toy company. Kaws’ figurines from that first Be@rback collaboration – the Medicom Bearbrick Series 4 – and subsequent tie-ins have been posted for resale on the internet for as much as US$4,500, after originally retailing at a few hundred dollars.

His designs sent China into a buying frenzy: US artist Kaws and his 20 years of collaborations

Nike, Dior, Uniqlo, Shu Qi, Edison Chen, Comme des Garcons: the list of his collaborators goes on and on Kaws’ designs are hugely popular in China, for collectors and investors who resell the items for huge profits

Nike, Dior, Uniqlo, Shu Qi, Edison Chen, Comme des Garcons: the list of his collaborators goes on and on

Kaws’ designs are hugely popular in China, for collectors and investors who resell the items for huge profits