Travis Scott’s Brand Collaboration: McDonald’s, Nike & More
Written by SOURCE on September 8, 2020
Artist merch is nothing new. Travis Scott certainly isn’t the first rapper to capture people’s attention with his own limited clothing and accessories. But you would be hard pressed to find many artists who have been able to capitalize on their popularity with such offerngs in the way that he has been able to throughout his career.
Limited edition capsule collections with some of fashion’s most notable designers. A virtual concert with one of the world’s most popular video games as his stage. A cheeseburger combo meal with the world’s largest fast food chain. There doesn’t seem to be anything off limits for the Houston rapper when it comes to collaboratoions these days, and with a fanbase as passionate as his it is pretty much guaranteed that no matter what he does next, people will be talking about it.
With Travis’ latest brand partnership with McDonald’s making its debut today, we decided to take a look back at all of La Flame’s brand collaborations. From Been Trill to Fortnite, check out a breakdown of each below.
Been Trill
Year: 2014
One of the first official product collaborations for Travis came back in 2014 when he released a long sleeve T-shirt with fashion conglomerate Been Trill. The all-over Real Tree camouflage design went hand in hand with the album art for “Upper Echelon,” one of his biggest songs at the time. It was highlighted by Travis’ “La Flame” nickname written in Been Trill’s signature drippy font across the chest and a giant flame logo covering the back. Travis was far from the household name he is today, but the piece remains a hard-to-find grail for any day one La Flame fans. —Mike DeStefano
Diamond Supply Co.
Year: 2016
Another early La Flame collaboration that has aged fairly well is his collaboration with Diamond Supply Co. in 2016. The graphic on the T-shirt was undoubtedly inspired by the work of Pen & Pixel, two graphic design artists who defined the look of album covers coming out of the South in the ‘90s and early 2000s. —Lei Takanashi
Bape
Year: 2016
When Bathing Ape decides to make a Baby Milo version of yourself, you know you truly made it as a rapper. In 2016, Travis Scott received the official Baby Milo treatment at ComplexCon Long Beach, where limited-edition Baby Milo T-shirts featuring Big Sean and Kid Cudi were also released. Today, these shirts are highly coveted pieces of Travis Scott memorabilia. Consider yourself lucky if you were able to get your hands on one. —Lei Takanashi
Maharishi
Year: 2016
Another collaboration that was inspired by Rodeo was Travis Scott’s collaboration Maharishi. The collection included hats, crewneck sweatshirts, trousers, and a tour jacket referencing Scott’s debut studio album. Dubbed as the “Year of the Cowboy” collection, the standout tour jacket piece featured sheriff patches and detailed embroidery of La Flame riding a bucking horse. —Lei Takanashi
Helmut Lang
Year: 2017
One of the most surprising collaborations that Travis Scott landed was with none other than the revered fashion brand Helmut Lang. Of course, it’s important to clarify that the namesake designer was not involved with this collaboration. However, it certainly went down as a memorable moment for the brand. Scott designed a collection that riffed on Lang’s classic Spring/Summer 2004 collection that referenced the idea of urban cowboys. So it was a no brainer for the brand to eventually tap into a Houston artist who constantly referenced the rodeo throughout his career. —Lei Takanashi
Ksubi
Year: 2017
While it wasn’t his first project with a major designer, some might consider Travis’ 2017 collection with Ksubi to be his best. Along with distressed denim offerings, the rapper and Australian label combined to create bomber jackets, striped T-shirts, and hoodies bearing everything from birds to flaming skulls. Each piece was completed with special cobranding as well. Travis transformed Ksubi’s usual logo with orange flames. To celebrate the release, Travis filled Ksubi’s New York flagship with ragers for a launch party that included live performances from him, his DJ Chase B, and Sheck Wes. —Mike DeStefano
Virgil Abloh
Year: 2017
Although Virgil Abloh has worked with Travis Scott since the Been Trill days, an official Virgil Abloh x Travis Scott collaboration did not surface until Scott performed a sold-out gig at Terminal 5 in 2017. For the New York City stop of the Birds Eye View Tour, Abloh performed a special DJ set and released merch exclusively at the show. The Champion hoodie and T-shirt from that tour stop are still coveted La Flame grails today. Later in 2018, Abloh designed two Astroworld T-shirts. One T-shirt featuring a Travis Scott toy wearing Cactus Jack Air Jordan IVs was sold exclusively for 24 hours on Scott’s web-store. Another T-shirt, featuring Scott wearing Off-White Air Jordan “Chicago” 1s, was limited to a run of 500 and exclusively sold at one of Abloh’s rare DJ sets in New York City. —Lei Takanashi
Nike
Year: 2017
Perhaps the most notable brand partnership in Travis Scott’s archive is his ongoing work with Nike and Jordan Brand that kicked off in 2017 with his take on the timeless Air Force 1. His Air Jordan I, complete with its flipped Swoosh branding, is probably his most valuable sneaker collab to date. But there have been plenty. The Air Jordan IV, Air Jordan VI, Nike SB Dunk Low, and so on. They are pretty much all good. And all worth a ton of money on the aftermarket these days. The partnership has also expanded to include apparel over the years including hoodies and sweatpants altered with cargo pockets modeled by wrestling legend Mick Foley (aka Cactus Jack). —Mike DeStefano
Saint Laurent
Year: 2018
Travis has been an ambassador for Saint Laurent since 2016. He was the face of the brand’s Spring/Summer 2019 campaign, his “Can’t Say” video doubled as an ad for Saint Laurent, but his only official product offering with the luxury designer came by way of a limited edition vinyl record in December 2018. It was sold exclusively at Colette. Only 500 were made. And each was home to a specially-curated, 12-track playlist that featured an eclectic mix ranging from Fat Pat’s “25 Lighters” to Toro y Moi’s “So Many Details.” —Mike DeStefano
Readymade
Year: 2018
Travis Scott first collaborated with Readymade in 2018 for his Astroworld tour. The Japanese brand known for upcycling military garments created a custom cargo vest and pants for La Flame to wear on stage. For tour merch, Scott ended up dropping a T-shirt with Readymade, which featured a childhood portrait of himself and lyrics from “Yosemite” printed on the back. In 2019, Scott collaborated with the brand again for a limited run of 3-pack white T-shirts, which stylized Readymade’s logo as Astroworld. —Lei Takanashi
New Era x Houston Astros
Year: 2019
Travis’ love for Houston is undeniable. So it made perfect sense to see him get an official New Era fitted collab with the Houston Astros. The ‘Stros on-field cap was remixed with three sketched stars added to the logo and “Wish You Were Here” stitched on the back in a font commonly seen across plenty of the rapper’s Astroworld tour merch. It came in three colors: navy, black, and his signature brown with orange accents. He even tossed out the first pitch at a game in April 2019 to mark the release. —Mike DeStefano
Reese’s Puffs
Year: 2019
Travis Scott’s first collaboration with food arrived last year in the form of Reese’s Puffs. The original release included limited edition cereal boxes, bowls, and spoons sold through Cactus Jack web store. Each cereal box was displayed inside a clear acrylic case, priced at $50, and sold out in half a minute. La Flame fans in Paris were able to purchase this limited-edition General Mills collaboration through a pop-up event in Paris, where Scott signed boxes. When the boxes eventually hit supermarket store shelves, they were quickly emptied by fans and hungry resellers. —Lei Takanashi
Houston Rockets
Year: 2020
Travis raps “Packin’ out Toyota like I’m in the league,” on the intro to his critically acclaimed Astroworld project, a clever nod to the arena of his hometown’s Houston Rockets. He’s also a courtside mainstay throughout the NBA season at Rockets home games. He’s such a big fan that the team even had an official Travis Scott bobblehead giveaway night in February 2020. The collectible is pretty accurate too with the ceramic Scott rocking a Rockets jersey, Astroworld cap, his Air Jordan IV collab, and one of his custom pendants around his neck. Previously, Travis has worked with the team on an official T-shirt giveaway. —Mike DeStefano
Hot Wheels
Year: 2020
How else could Travis Scott celebrate the release of Jack Boys? To coincide with the album’s cover art, Scott released a die cast affordable version of the Cactus Jack BMW M3 E30 as a Hot Wheels car. He also released a sign-up sheet for anyone who was interested in bidding on the actual car. To this date, the auction has not been held. —Lei Takanashi
‘Fortnite’
Year: 2020
Fortnite, the multiplayer battle royale game, has turned into arguably one of the biggest video games of all time. One of its most impactful moments came earlier this year when a virtual Travis Scott held his 10-minute long Astronomical performance on the game’s servers. Players who tuned in were treated with a gigantic version of the rapper stomping around the map as fire rained down on them, they were shot up into space, and shot down into the ocean. It was something truly unique that pushed the boundaries of what a “concert” could look like during a global pandemic. Players were also given the option to purchase special in-game skins and items inspired by La Flame. In addition, Travis released tons of merch on his online shop throughout the week after its premier. It was yet another indication that there aren’t many avenues that Travis and his team won’t tap into. —Mike DeStefano
Nerf
Year: 2020
As part of his Astronomical event with Fortnite, Travis dropped off an extensive merch capsule, which has become the norm for his projects. It featured T-shirts, hoodies, and action figures. But one of the highlights was the AR-goosebumps dart blaster made in collaboration with Nerf. Weird flex to say you have your own Nerf gun. But a flex nonetheless. —Mike DeStefano
Uninterrupted
Year: 2020
2020’s high school graduating class was dealt a pretty crazy hand. Covid-19 ended their senior year early, which meant they weren’t able to have a proper sendoff with an in-person graduation ceremony. While a T-shirt doesn’t make up for that, it is pretty cool nonetheless to say your “Class of 2020” shirt was designed by Travis Scott and LeBron James and not printed at a boardwalk T-shirt shop. The collaborative design with James’ Uninterrupted also raised funds for the LeBron James Family Foundation and Feeding Texas. Good vibes all around with this one. —Mike DeStefano
McDonald’s
Year: 2020
The rumors were true. Travis Scott really has his own McDonald’s collaboration. No, he isn’t selling cactus-shaped burgers or purple Sprite. But there will be a special Travis Scott Meal up for grabs starting today. Food aside, we all know what really mattered when hitting the Mickey D’s drive-thru was as a kid: the toy. And teasers suggest there will be a mini La Flame figurine included with each purchase. He even designed special uniforms for employees to wear throughout the month-long campaign. While nothing is confirmed yet, expect some red and yellow merch with some golden arches on it to hit travisscott.com in the near future too. —Mike DeStefano
Evisu
Year: 2020
Although it’s not officially confirmed yet, a Travis Scott x Evisu jeans collaboration has been teased throughout 2020. Find out how rappers like Travis Scott discovered the premium Japanese denim brand here. —Lei Takanashi
