At the end of April, Macy’s recruited Elton John and Lady Gaga to put their names to a new international collection of clothing and accessories, called Love Bravery. The line was created by Lady Gaga’s sister, Natali Germanotta, and designer Brandon Maxwell.
The new fashion collection is more than a range of clothes with celebrity names in the by-line. It’s “a fashion collection designed to fight prejudice with words of love.” 25% of sales will go to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way foundation and Elton John’s AIDS Foundation.
Included in the line are shorts, outerwear and backpacks, scarves with piano prints and even skateboards, all in vivid graphic prints that reflect both singers’ fashion flamboyance.
Its website, created by AKQA and JacktheMaker, was inspired by a Washington Post article, one month later on May 26, titled, “Every 10 seconds, someone on Twitter calls a woman a ‘slut’ or ‘whore’.”
While the clothes are flamboyantly detailed, the website and campaign film are austerely black and white. The simple site features abusive tweets posted in real-time. The speed at which they occur on the site is shocking.
In the campaign video, Elton John states, “To love someone, even when they’ve been nasty to you, is an act of bravery. It is easier to love someone than to hate. Hate is a waste of energy; love is pure energy.”
Lady Gaga adds, “We have to teach the new generations to love and kind. And use their talent to create a better and braver world.”
The launch of the Love Bravery site has timed to coincide with the release of Elton John’s first music video in 10 years, Good Heart, in which the Love Bravery logo is given a role.
The project was also produced by Every.
The Love Bravery effort is part of Macy’s American Icons campaign, an annual event that showcases American products. The items in the collection will be available until the end of August, and range in price from US$12 to US$99. The collection is being sold online and at 150 of Macy’s 750 or so stores. Macy’s has also set up Love Bravery shops in prime locations.