Arts & Entertainment
Collaborating With Brands
Lesson time 11:27 min
Relationship-building is a key part of working with brands. Learn about Futura’s collaborations with Virgil Abloh’s Off-White and the Noguchi Museum.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: A Collaboration Is a Relationship · A Collaboration Isn't Work · You Don't Need to Be Afraid · Come Correct!
Preview
[MUSIC PLAYING] - Collaboration. You know, it's a two-way street. Like I feel that, well, why? Why do you collaborate with a brand? What's the point of that? And well obviously, it's usually a bigger and a smaller. Because it's always like small, small one's coming up to try to get up there, and as they rise up, they made some relationships and now they're working with brands that they've been inspired by or influenced by. And when that happens in I guess anyone's career, that's a really cool thing. Like people you idolized or respected or bought, brands you supported and you feel strong about and you get a chance to work with them, it's really amazing. But yeah, the scope of any collaboration I feel is also based on the participants. And I've worked with many brands certainly. But I don't feel like I'm working with the brand so much as I'm working with the individual from that brand, who I've established a relationship with. Because it isn't just dollars and cents. It's not just zeros and commas. Because that's not really, that doesn't really interest me. I want to make friendships and relationships with people. And I want to build trust with them, and I want to build trust with you. And I want you to believe me. And when I under-promise over-deliver, well, that helps building trust with you, that you know that wow, well, he's really here for us and we're here for each other. So what I said before about collaborations and how relationships are important for me. It's not just someone, some XYZ company gives me a call or my management and they say, hey, I work with Futura. It's like, OK, why? Are you trying to make something? Build your brand? Or are you wanting to work creatively with someone else? In 2020, I got to collaborate with my good friend, Virgil Abloh, a designer and the founder of fashion label, Off-White. I've known Virg for years now. And prior to Off-White, prior to him arriving at Louis V, we've done some things in the past, like T-shirt, you know, I mean he's always been mad creative and was just on his way to greatness. Despite his, you know, his success and where he's at the moment creatively, he's always recognized me as being someone who was there before he arrived doing whatever I was doing, whether it's back in the '90s and this whole run up until the moment. So when he finally said, hey, why don't we do something with Off-White, it was a no-brainer. So we took one of my favorite paintings from 1982 and Virgil transformed it into various pieces for his collection. So how crazy is that, that what? Virg would have been a couple of years old at the time? And that it gets a chance to kind of come back. And a lot of that was us handing over some imagery and some of my content to Virgil for him to choose what he felt was representative for the pieces he was going to make. How and where artwork lands on a piece of clothing or a bag or whatever the item may be, in the case of this, I personally d...
About the Instructor
A pioneering painter and street artist, Futura has exhibited at institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, collaborated with Louis Vuitton and Supreme, and created album art for The Clash. Now he’s teaching you his signature, kinetic approach to abstract art. Learn how to express yourself and paint with color, dimension, and detail. All you need to create art is an idea and a can of spray paint.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Futura
Pioneering abstract graffiti artist, Futura teaches you how to create art with a can of spray paint and an idea.
Explore the Class