Stüssy re-emerged as a streetwear superpower last year, lighting up the scene and the StockX best-selling boards with collaborations from Nike, Comme des Garçons, No Vacancy Inn, Our Legacy, and more. Their grey Crewneck Sweatshirt with Nike was resold on StockX over 2,000 times in 2020 and despite rising resale prices, the garment continues to be one of the best-selling pieces on the market in the new year. The streetwear OG’s 40th Anniversary year was a massive success, at least as far as resale goes and Stüssy’s numerous apparel and footwear collaborations continuously caught the attention of buyers last year. It would seem that this year they can collaborate on whatever they want with whoever they want. After working with Virgil Abloh, Rick Owens, Marc Jacobs, Nike, Our Legacy, Birkenstock, and many others, the boundaries set around Stüssy collaborations are nonexistent. Stüssy’s t-shirt with Virgil Abloh has been resold over 600 times on StockX since December and the brand’s Air Force 1 has been resold over 10,000 times since dropping. Stüssy can shoot for the stars if they want to and by the looks of their releases already in 2021, they’re going to.
Stüssy x Nike Keeps On Rolling
Stüssy and Nike didn’t wait long to get a release out in the new year. Just two days before the end of the month, Stüssy and Nike have made more sneakers and streetwear available, this time upcycling and hand-dyeing Air Force 1s and apparel pieces from their last release. The Stüssy and Nike partnership, which delivered its first collection in the spring of 2020, is already off to a quicker start than last year with the drop of their January 2021 capsule. As this collaborative relationship progresses, it seems as if it’s only going to become a more and more regular occurrence. With versatility and accessibility at the forefront, Stüssy and Nike will hopefully continue to release more classic sneakers like the Air Force 1 and elevated basics like their best-selling crewneck.
Stüssy’s List of Collaborators Continues to Grow
Stüssy’s list of collaborators last year is essentially the 2020 “Who’s Who” list of brands. The 40-year-old streetwear label did a little bit of everything through their partnerships last year, releasing footwear from Birkenstocks to Air Force 1s and apparel from suiting to sweatpants. Stüssy has already dropped two collaborations in January alone, one with Nike and another with Mattel, delivering an official Magic 8-Ball and matching t-shirt with the toy manufacturer. This year we’re expecting to see even more joint-efforts than we saw last year as the brand hopefully continues to express its west coast mindset through the various catalogs they continue to lend their hand to. While we’re excited about more Stüssy x Nike, more drops from that partnership already feel like a lock and it’s the world-joining releases like Our Legacy, Matthew Williams, and Virgil Abloh that we’re hoping to see more of this year.
Stüssy’s Footwear Remains a Driving Factor
To some, the apparel released by Stüssy in 2020 played second fiddle to their footwear collaborations with Nike and Birkenstock. The Stüssy x Nike partnership delivered 17 sneakers last year from Air Force 1s, to Benassi Slides, to the Air Zoom Spiridon. Sneakers from the two brands amassed more than 30,000 sales on StockX last year, with the Fossil colorway of the Air Zoom Spiridon Cage 2 coming in as the best seller with just under 10,000 sales itself. If the partnership does continue into the new year, it could mean even more high-powered sneakers in even more beloved or under-utilized silhouettes. Stüssy’s small capsule with Birkenstock didn’t do crazy numbers last year but showed the label’s depth and ability to work in multiple lanes at the same time. The Birkenstocks were well-received and have traded at a price premium of around 30% since their release.
Our Hopes
Nobody collaborated last year like Stüssy did, not even Supreme. Every release meant something and all of them added value to the story of one of the industry’s oldest brands. Coming off a year where they erupted back into the headlines of the streetwear mainstream, Stüssy has the opportunity to amplify the collaborative energy that was so powerful in 2020. Maybe Stüssy will create long-term partnerships that will deliver consistent collections with brands like Nike or No Vacancy Inn and continues to stretch themselves to fit new collaborative relationships with brands they’ve never worked with before. With any luck, the Stüssy name will find itself on a number of new Nike silhouettes and perhaps another Birkenstock release or a new Dr. Martens shoe. No matter what happens this year, if Stüssy keeps up the momentum, 2021 is going to be a year to remember.
