A comedy fashion show 

The first I’ve heard of the brand Kid Super was through its founder and designer’s original idea to do a comedy show to present its fall/winter 2023 collection.

I see comedians as some of the greatest contributors to the well being of our society. So, of course, I was captivated by this out-of-the-box approach. 

Fashion brands like Hermès have been flirting with “funny” for a while now. Some do it strategically to differentiate themselves from the exclusiveness of the luxury world and others because they are launching “premium” sub-brands that are targeting a more mainstream clientele. So what was this guy’s goal ? : )

A “true” story 

Something felt different about KidSuper, starting with its name. I love looking into the why behind a naming, always hoping and praying that it was not something completely random. I was not disappointed.
KidSuper is what Colm Dillane, the brand’s founder, would have wanted to be called if he was a rapper or a superhero. Playful. Unique to him. Nice. : )

And here is the “short story version” of how the brand came to be :

• He started designing his own clothes when he was still going to high-school, because he couldn’t afford to wear what he liked (this fits the first steps of my Abundance Design theory –> Create what you love and need).
• His friends slowly started to pay him to make pieces for them as well (again, a passion that turns into a business authentically, just like the Yvon Chouinard story).
• In college, he turned his dorm into a “shop” and got kicked out, which inspired him to actually go and open a shop for himself. Somewhere he would create, sell and sleep.No one came to his grand opening. So he decided to make the place so cool that people would want to come. He turned the back room into a music production studio and rappers started to come produce their albums there. And it worked.. 
  
  Basically, the story of a man fiercely pursuing what he loves.
  

Fashion is not “Fashion” to him. It’s his life, his expression, his art and play and that’s what his logo and whole brand universe represent. That’s what makes this brand magnetic.

The creative freedom pass

Companies who don’t dare take creativity as far as him, attempt collaborations with KidSuper to buy themselves some of that freedom. Maybe that’s the kind of superhero he is after all. One that helps free us from our inhibitions.

“So when these other labels come to collaborate or work with me, they’re already mentally expecting a bit of weirdness. So I just double down. And as for the pushback from buttoned-up corporate types? In most companies, they’re still just humans who want to do awesome shit. So a lot of them are like : Thank you for pushing it, because now I can push my boss, or I can try to push the entire corporate structure.”
C.D.  GQ Interview

His last show named “How to find an idea” was once again a show. A play this time, inviting us into Dillane’s mind. 

The emotions generated through his content get associated to his designs. Wearing KidSuper means wearing those “creative souvenirs”.

This is not what generally pops up when you look up “brand content” in the search engine, which makes this a cool case study. Although all of these decisions are strategically smart, they are led by passion and that’s what allows originality.

To finish with a short extract from “How to find an idea” :

“Creative work is a reaction against rigid rules. It might be most inspired by having something to break.(…) These walls are inspiring, if you work against them.”

Nesem