To celebrate its 40th birthday, Starbucks has presented a new commemorative coffee blend dubbed Tribute Blend, launched the multi-platform promotional campaign, released ‘Onward’ book telling the brand’s story and even updated its green siren logo. All these new additions were warmly welcomed by the public, now the brand adds apparel to the list of the anniversary-related merchandize, hoping to continue the success. The coffee giant teamed up with designers Alexander Wang, Sophie Theallet, and Billy Reid, the recipients of the past three annual CFDA/VOGUE FASHION FUND awards, to develop a line of signature limited edition T-shirts, which represent the brand’s vision and spirit and pay tribute to Starbucks ongoing commitment to help deprived communities in developing countries, contribute to ecological initiatives and provide people around the globe with best-quality coffee.
Photo: Starbucks 40th anniversary T-shirts
“We gave our designers an open canvas, and the collection came out to be as beautiful as anyone would expect. What was most unique was how each designer’s character revealed itself,” explains Nia Zhang, Marketing project manager on the official Starbucks blog. The fashion world creatives tell more about their collaboration with the legendary coffee retailer in the ‘Gifts & Extras’ section of the virtual store, explaining what inspired their designs for Starbucks, photos of the tees go together with the descriptions.
«When Starbucks and the CFDA approached us with this project, the first thing we thought of what everyone tries to avoid—spilled coffee on a t-shirt. This turned into the design, hoping people would have fun with it,» said Alexander Wang of his work. «We were inspired by the iconic images and American success story of Starbucks over the past 40 years. So 1971 stood out as an important number that we wanted to implement in the design, along with the iconic Siren and beautiful signature wallpaper prints. As for the shirt itself, we wanted a certain broken-in quality that looks great worn inside out, is a bit antiqued in spirit, and ready for wear immediately,» added Billy Reid, who created two T-shirts, for men and women. «I was inspired by the global community, and all the connections involved around a cup of Starbucks coffee,» continued Sophie Theallet, commenting on her sensual and feminine design.
The pricy tees (each of them costs $85) are available at www.starbucks.com/fashion and from Nordstrom, which sells the tees in designer sections of select stores across the USA beginning September 19.