PacSun Goes to the Met With a New Capsule Collection

PacSun's latest collection might be designed to cultivate a new generation of fine art aficionados, but it also might inadvertently cure seasonal affective disorder for customers suffering from the winter blues. On Oct. 6, the youth culture-centered fashion retailer launched "The Met x PacSun," a 30-piece capsule collection in partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Featuring soft yet vibrant florals and landscapes drawn from late 19th century artists, housed in the museum’s permanent European collection, the exclusive line is available online and in 200 PacSun retail locations, according to a statement. The company will also dedicate space in select stores to spotlight the capsule’s launch. Officially called “The Study of Fine Arts: Highlights from The Met Reimagined by PacSun,” the neutral-hued and gender-fluid collection comprises fall- and winter-specific pieces such as sweatsuits, hoodies, T-shirts, hats and socks with artwork by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Henri Fantin-Latour and Vincent van Gogh placed across the garments and accompanied by the museum’s iconic logo and typeface. Sizes range from XS to XL and are priced at $14 to $28 for accessories and $30 to $80 for apparel. The collection zeroes in on 'art that shaped, and is still shaping, our culture.' “The arts continue to be important to our consumers and community, and partnering with such an iconic museum that has resonance in the fashion world felt like a natural collaboration for us,” PacSun president Brie Olson said in a statement. “We were grateful that several of the Met’s most notable and important works were made available to us for this collection.” Adweek was given a tour of the works that inspired the collection by Morgan Pearce, the Met’s general manager of marketing and brand partnerships who has worked with brands on exclusive collections and experiences from the 152-year-old institution’s arsenal of 2 million works. Both the Met and PacSun used licensing agency Beanstalk to broker the partnership—their first together—with Pearce noting the museum and the PacSun teams were highly collaborative during the process of ensuring the centuries-old works were accurately depicted on the modern-day clothing styles and fabrications. “It's undeniable that the past has a weighted influence on fashion, and PacSun … wanted to highlight the rich history of the Met through a merchandise and apparel collection that would celebrate that history,” Olson said. “The collection consists of styles fit for anyone to wear, allowing consumers to outfit themselves in the art that shaped, and is still shaping, our culture.” Linda Morgenstern, Beanstalk’s vp of brand management, echoed Olson’s sentiment: “This beautiful collection inspires consumers to experience art in a new way, juxtaposing it with self-expression and their own personal style.” Items from the collection were shot adjacent to the selected works that inspired them with permission from the museum, which has been courting young art lovers through multiple initiatives beyond its annual Met Costume Institute Gala, the most famous fashion-focused event held in partnership with Vogue every May.