Midas Touch (Part 1)

There are numerous celebrities who are collectors of be@rbricks. However, few have the clout in the fashion/entertainment industry who have shaped these toys to where they are today.

Midas touch, named after King Midas in Greek Mythology who had the ability to turn everything he touched into gold.  A gold be@rbrick would be nice, but the term metaphorically represents the ability of celebrities to turn everything they possess, touch, pictured and featured with into something valuable.

The below are simply trends that I observe throughout the years, so the accuracy is up for discussion.

Early – mid 2000s

Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. Picture courtesy of Hypebeast

One of the earliest influence at the turn of the millennium, PW was one of the first few celebrities who possessed the Midas Touch. He has contributed in a way or another, to the success of brands such as BBC, Bathing Ape, Good Enough, Kaws and many others. Everyone wanted to dress like him, have what he has, and simply be like him. He was also one of the first few artistes who introduced Japanese fashion brands to the States.

With PW featured in countless magazines/websites/features, Kaws and Bathing Ape are some of the brands that attracted cult-like status. Be@rbricks’ rose to prominence is a consequence of the PW bandwagon.

Mid 2000s – late 2000s

Edison Chen. Picture Courtesy of Hypebeast

Edison Chen has undoubtedly the heaviest influence on Be@rbricks. His popularity in mid 2000s, both in fashion and entertainment, has earned him countless endorsements. Like PW, he extended the same influence in different markets. He has such huge influence over the Asian market that many of the American brands collaborated with him on various projects – including Pepsi, Levi’s and Nike.

His love for be@rbricks is so apparent that most of the brands that he collaborated with have be@rbricks.

Levi’s x Clot. Image courtesy of Hypebeast

Clot x Pepsi be@rbrick. Image courtesy of Freshnessmag.

There are more be@rbricks but I will not be listing them all. Some of these be@rbricks are fetching insane prices today. Edison, unfortunately, embroiled in a photo scandal back in 2008 and that dented his credibility. Medicom still collaborates with Edison (or rather his brand, Clot) on be@rbrick projects even after the scandal but in my opinion, Edison’s influence has waned since 2008.

The ‘next big thing’ did not appear until the next decade, and Medicom spared no effort in using product placements in the MTVs of…… G Dragon. While I research more on him for the next post [I am no K-pop fan :(], I hope that you have enjoyed the contents so far!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Shawn

791 Be@rbricks read this post.