The Scariest Part of KAWS-Tober Is All the Collaborations
If this past season was the summer of sacai, we're just scratching the surface of KAWS-Tober. The Brooklyn-based artist has been so active with collaborations in recent months that it's gotta be hard to catch your breath as a fan.
Well, Mr. Bones' Wild Ride never ends, you know. In line with last week's skeletonized Fortnite collaboration, KAWS has launched a pre-order site for a spread of spooky Companion collectibles and apparel.
Alongside in-line shirts and Halloween-y skeleton hangables, there's a collaborative bCactus Plant Flea Market T-shirt and Infinite Archives pajama set rendered with matching Companion imagery.
It's very spooky and all that but if you're hoping to decorate your home for a KAWS-themed Halloween party, you're out of luck: all this being a pre-order, the goods won't ship for a month — possibly even late November.
Not that it's particularly difficult to get your hands on something KAWS-related these days. Between the aforementioned Fortnite stuff, there was that COMME des GARÇONS SHIRT collection, perfume, PORTER bags, Reese's Puffs, and even a new colorway of the forthcoming KAWS x sacai x Nike Blazer Lows.
Fans seem to be eating it up — pretty all of KAWS' Instagram posts announcing new merch receive enthusiastic comments. The only one that drew mixed reviews was the Fortnite collaboration, which still got plenty of love but also generated some mild pushback from fans who seemed to think that KAWS was selling out.
Given that KAWS' entire livelihood is basically predicated on drops of toys and merch, I think we're long past that point.
Personally, I'm exhausted by the deluge of KAWS-llaborations, especially considering that it's repetitions on a theme. Really, KAWS is so big and so popular that he can't really drop too many T-shirts, perfume bottles, or cereal boxes — there's a seemingly endless hunger for them.
KAWS really is a perfect match for mass-market retailers like UNIQLO. There are already commenters on his Instagram begging for a new collaboration, in fact.
I have a feeling that KAWS-Tober (KAW-Tumn?) is really just getting underway, so better buckle up: we're all on Mr. KAWS' Wild Ride.
