In one of my last posts, I talked about Disney’s recent involvements with the fashion industry and while writing, I thought about other brands that have kept strong ties with the fashion world.

One of the first names that came to mind was “Coca Cola” which got me thinking: How is it possible that a brand which produces sugary soft drinks can have such a strong connection to the fashion world?

The contrast between a product that is packed with calories and the slimming craze promoted by the fashion world’s ideal of beauty couldn’t be bigger! Nevertheless, the brand is able to present itself as a fashionable and stylish product which is strongly embraced by some of fashion’s most iconic personalities and labels.

The answer to my introductory question is simple: Great Marketing mixed with incredible timing!

There are probably a lot of people who have a pretty critical opinion on the matter as well as Coke’s involvement in the professional sports world. Nonetheless, I think that a multi-national brand like “Coca Cola” has such a broad influence on modern culture that it’s inevitable to get involved with two of our society's main interests: sports and fashion.

Therefore, I want to give you a little insight into some of the most interesting fashion projects by Coca Cola and how they have managed to partner up with major tastemakers of our society. I will provide different parts to make sure that I can talk on the projects in detail. So here goes the first part:

Coca Cola designer bottles
The coke bottle is a standout example of product packaging that has turned into Pop Culture because its original silhouette is recognizable all around the world. Therefore it makes perfect sense, that Coca Cola has turned it into a tradition that each year one fashion designer gets the chance to work his magic by giving the bottle a new “dress”.

Karl Lagerfeld

By now, you can name basically every popular designer label from Sonia Rykiel to Etro and they have already designed their limited edition bottle. One of the standout collaborations has to be the Karl Lagefeld edition because it was simply a perfect match!

Karl Lagerfeld: "I drink Diet Coke from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed. I can even drink it in the middle of the night, and I can sleep. I don't drink coffee, I don't drink tea, I drink nothing else."

 Lagerfeld was the perfect partner because he is known for being nearly addicted to Diet Coke. As you can see by the citation above he was promoting his liking to the beverage quite openly and had already become somewhat of a brand ambasssador, so why not take him on board to design a bottle?!

The campaign was a great success and got extensive media coverage because Lagerfeld was in the headlines for his drastic weight loss at the time. This gave Coca Cola the chance to deflect journalists from the constant obesity questions by presenting an example for someone who lost weight while drinking Coke on the daily. What a perfect business move!

Karl Lagerfeld

I have all three KL bottles on my desk at home and I think that the design is fantastic, but I'd say the Moschino collaboration is probably the most creative one.

Here is a little presentation of some of the greatest bottle designs, so that you can make you own decision which one is the best!

Moschino

Sonia Rykiel

Jean Paul Gaultier

Marc Jacobs

Etro

Armani Jeans, Gianfranco Ferré, Salvatore Ferragamo

Missoni

Fendi

Donatella Versace

all pictures via: cocacolacollectibles