Celebrities are no strangers to trying their hand in the fashion world. Be they singers, actors or ‘it’ stars, launching into fashion design is often on the priority list of many big-name celebs.
Jessica Simpson, Victoria Beckham and Gwen Stefani are all prime examples of stars who have been very successful debuting their own fashion and shoe brands.
Every year we see more and more crossover between fashion and entertainment — and this year was no different. In many ways, 2015 felt like the breakout year for footwear and music, as a number of artists from hip-hop, country and popular music delved into the shoe-design business.
Of all of the big collaborations and launches of the year, the most notable was designer Kanye West‘s extremely buzzed about (and industry recognized) collaboration with Adidas Originals on the Yeezy Boost. This year we saw multiple Yeezy releases, including various 350 colorways, and December has already seen the unveiling of the all-black Yeezy Boost 750, along with the latest 350 in tan, due to hit shelves just before the new year.
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Rihanna too wasted no time entering the shoe business. The singer had been on somewhat of a hiatus from releasing solo tracks as she worked on her upcoming album, however she was very much in the public eye, thanks to her fashion associations. The star was named the new face of Dior, collaborated with Stance socks and launched a highly successful line with Puma, with each release promptly selling out. News also came that the singer will show with athletic brand next year at New York Fashion Week.
Who else made their foray into the shoe business this year from the music world?
Kacey Musgraves tried her hand at design with Lucchese, Pharrell Williams debuted some of the hottest styles with Timberland (also taking home FN’s Collaboration of the Year award), and Rita Ora unveiled her new collaboration with Adidas. Other notable hip-hop artists who dipped their toes in the shoe biz included Ja Rule who launched Maven in partnership with Steve Madden and Pusha T who unveiled his anticipated King Push EQT sneakers with Adidas.
Even teen-star Zendaya debuted a line this year entitled Sole of Daya and got serious with her fashion choices in a new music video featuring only clothes right-off-the-runway from Vivienne Westwood.
Who is the only major exception to the music-rule this year? Social media stars and fashion mavens, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, who debuted their new brand this summer. The offering, for the sisters’ contemporary Kendall + Kylie collection, launched for spring ’16 and included pumps, flatforms, booties and gladiator-style sandals.
And turning our attention to the sports world, in addition to the plethora of signature NBA shoes that were released, elite footballer Victor Cruz launched his Nike Air Cruz TR silhouette.
Click through the gallery to see all the celebrity launches from the year.
