Beyonce and Adidas Mutually Terminate 'Partnership of a Lifetime' Over Creative Differences
The creative partnership between Queen B and the sportswear giant Adidas has mutually come to an end. According to Hollywood Reporter, there have been major creative differences between Beyonce's clothing venture, Ivy Park, and Adidas. The fashion collaboration ended as both the parties “disagreed over how to label and market the products, with Adidas pushing for more of its own branding,” according to Distractify.
The 41-year-old music diva originally launched Ivy Park with Topshop in 2016. Page Six reports that in 2018, the deal with the British billionaire, Philip Green’s company collapsed after he faced allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, and racism. She then went on to build full ownership of Ivy Park. The next year Beyonce entered into a creative collaboration with Adidas to launch an inclusive unisex line. Ivy Park was relaunched as an activewear line and also developed into a new footwear and apparel brand.
In an exclusive interview with Elle, Beyonce spoke in length about her creative partnership with the German sportswear brand. With this lucrative collaboration, she had become the only African-American woman to have complete ownership of a global athleisure brand. Speaking about the deal she said -
"I am excited for you to see the campaign for the first collection of this new partnership. It incorporates my personal style and expands that to include something for everyone. I love experimenting with fashion, mixing high and low, sportswear with couture, even masculine and feminine. This new line is fun and lends itself to creativity, the ultimate power."
She explained that she went on to design a unisex collection because she saw many men in Ivy Park. "The way they have embraced the brand is an unexpected gift. I appreciate the beauty of gender-neutral clothing and breaking the so-called fashion rules. I took a chance on myself when I bought my company back. We all have the confidence in us to take chances and bet on ourselves." The line featured several styles for the younger generation and kids, including leggings, hoodies, dresses, socks, sports bras and sneakers in sizes ranging from XXXS to XXXXL.
However, the sales haven't been up to the mark and as projected. Wall Street Journal reported that the revenue of the Ivy Park brand fell more than 50% last year. The fashion collaboration produced an estimated $200 million hole in the company’s annual projections.
Sales of Ivy Park stumbled in the market by more than 50% to about $ 40 million in 2022. The financial numbers were far less than the internal Adidas projections for $250 million in sales that year. The documents confirm Ivy Park has been losing money for Adidas and Beyoncé made only about $20 million in annual profit from the creative collaboration.
Dubbed the 'partnership of a lifetime' between the colossal sports giant and the Drunk in Love singer, the contract was already set to end after 2023, and Adidas executives had discussed either ending or revamping the arrangement. With dismal sales and creative hassles, the biggest fashion collaboration has been mutually terminated. Currently, the multiple Grammy award winner is on the lookout for re-branding her sportswear line and charting her own path while maintaining her creative ownership.
