The Backpack: Issue #81

• Trend Alert:  Beer got a luxury makeover
  
• What's new in commonsku: A peek under the hood!
  
• Can’t Miss Content: Dior eggs, Grateful Ducks, and Calming hoodies

Jonathan Anderson Made Beer Merch Fashion-Week Worthy

W Anderson just dropped a full collaboration with Guinness, and Highsnobiety is calling it one of his biggest collabs in years. Let that land: a luxury fashion designer whose brand sits alongside Loewe in the LVMH universe chose beer as his collab partner. And it works — he's reinterpreting the Guinness visual identity through his design lens, making something that feels distinctly JW while staying undeniably Guinness. For promo pros, this is the dream scenario to pitch your beverage, CPG, or food-service clients: your brand's visual DNA, reimagined by a design partner who elevates it beyond the merch table. The gap between "corporate swag" and "fashion collab" isn't budget — it's creative ambition. If Guinness can go high fashion, your client's brand can too. You just need the right creative partner and the courage to let them cook. Cheers to that.

YETI's F1 Collab: Start with the product, not the logo

YETI is dropping a fresh 2026 co-branded collection with Oracle Red Bull Racing, and T3 called it out: it's genuinely useful gear. We're talking drinkware, coolers, and outdoor accessories that happen to carry F1 branding — not the other way around. This is the sweet spot promo pros should be chasing. YETI understood the assignment: their customers are already buying tumblers and coolers, so why not give them a version that signals "I'm an F1 person" without screaming "I got this free at a conference"? The takeaway is simple but powerful — start with the product, not the logo. BTW: Accent your mug’s slider? Can’t tell if it’s genius or ridiculous (which prob means genius).

Porsche Made Anniversary Merch — And a Car Guy Bought It All On Camera

Porsche released a merch collection to celebrate the Carrera GT's 25th anniversary, and automotive YouTuber Doug DeMuro bought the whole thing on camera to review it. Here's the thing: the merch itself is reportedly... not great. But the story IS the merch. When your anniversary collection becomes content — even if it's a roast — you've won the awareness game. For promo pros, two takeaways: first, milestone merch sells itself because nostalgia does the heavy lifting. Second, if your product shows up in an unboxing video (even a critical one), that's reach money can't buy. The question isn't whether to make anniversary merch — it's whether your merch is interesting enough that someone would film themselves opening it. Gorg or not, Porsche got people talking. Note our faves: Playmobil porsche and we’re suckers for a Speedcat.

You've sold thousands of tees. But have you ever watched one get born? We flew to Honduras with twelve skummunity distributors to see SanMar and Elcatex's operations firsthand — from raw cotton to finished garment. What we saw on the factory floor (and way beyond it) rewired how we think about a blank tee forever. Read the full story.