KAWS x Cactus Plant Flea Market T-shirt: StockX Pick of the Week

KAWS is having a big year. 2021 marks 25 years of art and collectibles by Brian Donnelly under the moniker of “KAWS” and the artist is celebrating. He’s had a number of shows around the world including Tokyo First and the Brooklyn Museum, plus a ton of collaborations like Supreme, Human Made, Travis Scott, and Fragment. Next month, he will debut his third retrospective art exhibition of the year at Skarstedt New York. But back in October, when he announced an in-game partnership with Fortnite, he opened up a pre-order for several new apparel pieces. Among that small collection of apparel was this week’s StockX Pick of the Week, the KAWS x Cactus Plant Flea Market T-shirt.

The KAWS x Cactus Plant Flea Market T-shirt marks the first time that the two brands have ever worked together. The shirts, released in white and black colorways, feature a KAWS Companion Skeleton with the face of a Cactus Plant Flea Market smiley face. Each t-shirt features both KAWS and Cactus Plant Flea Market branding and while they don’t make specific reference to the Fortnite collaboration, the skeleton graphic is likely a nod to that partnership in which players can don the same KAWS skeleton skins for in-game play.

As previously mentioned, KAWS has been collaborating with apparel brands in 2021 like nobody’s business. These collaborations are undoubtedly thanks to the 25th anniversary of KAWS and the list of partners continues to grow. Beyond apparel, KAWS has released three new figures this year with another expected to be delivered in November. Outside of the traditional KAWS Figure, other collectibles like keychains, mugs, posters, puzzles, and books have been releasing at a far higher clip than in previous years. KAWS has also delivered a number of less conventional collaborations this year, working with brands like Bearbrick, Reese’s Puffs, and Fortnite.

With the Fortnite and Reese’s Puffs collaborations, KAWS seems to be moving in a similar direction to that of Travis Scott as far as branding and partnerships go. Travis Scott, the world’s most beloved hip hop superstar, has become the largest collaborative name on the planet. Like KAWS, Scott has also partnered with Reese’s Puffs, Cactus Plant Flea Market, and Fortnite in the recent past and has since worked with McDonald’s and Anheuser-Busch. KAWS and Travis Scott also linked up earlier this year, releasing two co-branded t-shirts under Scott’s collaborative collection with Fragment. 

If KAWS’ goal is to eventually reach the collaborative prowess of someone like Travis Scott, he seems to be on the right track. 2021 has been jam-packed with KAWS collectibles and apparel, and if the artist continues this cadence into next year, he could very well become a household name. In the meantime, every collaboration, both large and small, counts, and working with brands like Cactus Plant Flea Market and Fortnite will certainly keep KAWS on the right track.

Shop the KAWS x Cactus Plant Flea Market T-shirts as well as other apparel from the artist on StockX below.