Justin Bieber's merch—which, despite the fanfare was up to this point mostly just graphic T-shirts—has created a fervor felt both by his most loyal fans and our own deputy editor. Fans have lined up in Toronto, New York City, and Miami for a chance to cop the Purpose-themed merch, and now Bieber is taking it to the next level. The singer is partnering with Barneys for an exclusive capsule collection, The New York Times reported.
This is the first time Barneys will carry a musician's tour merch, according to The Times, so Bieber was forced to come correct. In addition to the expected T-shirts, the department store will also stock Bieber jeans, jerseys, and a $1,675 biker jacket: an item that is priced astronomically higher than anything Bieber has dared to sell during this run and will surely test the limits of even his most diehard fans.
For Barneys part, the store's executives have no regrets jumping into this water. "It was a no-brainer for me,” said Jay Bell, a senior vice president at Barneys. "It is the first time we’ve done it, but it felt right. It felt like something that would resonate with our customers, and that could sit seamlessly with the other brands we sell."
And although Bieber is venturing into pricier items that cost as much as many designer pieces, he's still hesitant to call his merch "fashion." "I’m happy and proud people are reacting to it and adopting it,” Bieber told The Times through a spokesman. "I don’t think of our tour merch as being 'fashion.' That’s a really high compliment for what it is. But I am really happy we were able to dial in to something cool the way we did." Bieber also said he looks up to labels like Saint Laurent, Yeezy, and Calvin Klein.
Bieber's merch certainly has the price tag for 'fashion,' and let's not forget he's had help from legitimate designers along the way. Fear of God's Jerry Lorenzo has been a big part of the merch design and noted in the past that the vibe he was going for was a mix of Allen Iverson and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. And while many have pointed out the similarities to buzzy brand Vetements, Lorenzo comes clean about the label's influence on the merch. "We’ve seen those," Lorenzo told The Times about certain Bieber-inspired Vetements pieces. "We kind of riff on their vibe, too."
The Bieber pop-up is hitting Barneys' website and locations in New York, Beverly Hills, and San Francisco on July 16.
