One month ago, streetwear sweetheart KITH released a limited-edition, lightning bolt-heavy collection in collaboration with everyone’s favorite mighty, morphin’, monochromatic do-gooders. (It quickly sold out.) Now, another 90s-era Saturday morning cartoon is getting an even higher fashion reboot. The Pokémon Company — creator of kids’ TV shows and movies, a slew of video games and one now infamous augmented reality app — has teamed up with Nepalese designer Prabal Gurung on a nine-piece line of Poké dresses, trousers, sweaters and skirts.
Image: Prabal Gurung x Pokémon
The luxe #PrabalxPokemon capsule collection dropped online and at Jeffrey New York today. Unlike the aforementioned Power Rangers apparel, Gurung’s designs are low on #branding. Instead, the envelope-pushing designer paid homage to the cuddly pocket monsters by drawing on their motifs and color palettes. Blink and you’ll miss the (for the most part) subtle references to central characters like Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.
“The Prabal Gurung customer is always a strong, passionate, global and modern woman,” wrote the New York-based designers in a statement. “With this collection, we engage a younger clientele who still embraces our elevated sense of style. Working with the Pokémon brand provided a fun and whimsical opportunity to be able to have a conversation with this youthful customer.”
Ostensibly said youthful customer has loaded parents — prices range from $325 for a simple tee to $1,795 for a colorblock dress with an asymmetric split hem and embroidered detailing meant to evoke Charmander’s flames. Talk about capitalizing on nostalgia.
View the full line in the slideshow below, and here’s hoping the diversity advocate‘s upcoming Lane Bryant collection is equally beautiful and far less costly.
[ via WWD ]