Billionares Boys Club & Ice Cream

Over at JeromeBaker's blog, he links to a BBC & Ice Cream hoodie being sold at CommonWealth and comments, "I like this hoodie but for $220? Come on B."



He's right of course. I know all about the limited design and distribution game, but the product in this case just doesn't look the price.

The other problem is the legitamacy of the brand as a collector's item. Last year, Pharrell made a huge mistake when he partnered with Reebok on a shoe deal. The shoes themselves were great, and while there was no Reebok logo, collectors were aware of the association and it put a taint on the Ice Cream brand.

Pharrell and Reebok fell-out and ended their partnership, but from what I've heard, Reebok is again manufacturing Ice Cream shoes (and interestingly enough, you can buy $79.99 Ice Cream shoes on the Reebok Web site), which again, is not a good association for a brand trying to claim that its cotton hoodies are worth spending over $200 for.

There's another issue at play here. It's the failure to crossover syndrome, a place where well-known rap artist discover that delving into fashion holds as many challenges for them as it does for, say, NBA players trying to handle a mic.

Now we all know it does happen. Witness the success of Sean John and Rocawear, however, outside of those two brands (well wait--was Puffy ever actually a true rapper and wasn't the Roc brand actually Dame's baby?), the industry hasn't seen many long-term successes resulting from the marriage of folks from the rap industry with business in either the shoe or rag trade.

Then again, this isn't just about rap artists. Think about all the actors and singers who have talked about and even gone on to create clothing or shoe lines. How many have been legitimate money makers beyond one or two seasons following a super-hyped launch? Outside of the two I mentioned, I can't think of any.