Nike, the king of brand collaborations, is adding another notch to its belt with Beats. The sportswear giant and Apple-owned audio brand are releasing a pair of Nike-branded earbuds that are more than meets the eye.
The limited edition Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 wireless earbuds, in Nike’s signature lime green “Volt” color palette, signal the first co-branding in a Beats pair, sporting the brand’s Swoosh on the right ear and the Beats logo on the right. But collaboration centers around sports performance optimization: The Powerbeats Pro 2’s built-in heart monitor can sync with Nike’s Run Club and fitness apps, so the wearer can monitor their activity without needing a separate health tracking device. Beats has tapped longtime brand ambassador LeBron James as the face of the AirPods campaign.
It’s the latest in wearable tech teaming up with fashion and sports brands to make fitness tracking accessible beyond the standard wristband. Hope last week announced a partnership with designer Samuel Ross on a fashion line that could incorporate its fitness tracker into clothing pieces, while Oakley worked with Meta on its tech performance wear heels.
The rapid development of technology coupled with our increasing well-being and longevity ambitions means that the consumer appetite for tracking health data currently knows no bounds. Meanwhile, the luxury sportswear industry has grown to a value of $115 billion in recent years, and is projected to reach $174 billion by 2030, according to Grandview Research. This growth is driven by the demand for functional yet fashionable sportswear, which the industry is meeting through collaborations that combine the latest sportswear innovations with the design and cultural power of the most sought-after luxury labels.
The collaboration with Nike marks the first time that Beats has partnered with a sportswear brand following its recent fashion tap-ups, which have included Alo, A-Coldwall, Stacey, Verdi, Cindy Liang, Paria Farzana and Kiko Kostadinov, as well as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Cap Star. The earbuds’ adaptive noise cancellation, 45-hour battery life, wrap-around-the-ears, and sweat- and water-resistance are all designed with athletes and fitness-focused consumers in mind, in what Beats CMO Chris Thorne says symbolizes the brand’s launch of sports exploration and sports audio. intersection
“We’ve been talking to Nick for a long time and just couldn’t really figure out what was the right way to collaborate,” Thorne says. “But when we first introduced heart rate monitoring in headphones a year ago, when we launched the Powerbeats Pro 2, suddenly we’re in the Nike world where you’re tracking metrics and everything related to high-level performance. That’s when we got serious and started thinking, ‘Okay, now we have the perfect product to match both brands.’
Ahead of the AirPods release on March 20, Vogue Business Thorne talks about the changing world of technical and luxury sportswear, as well as what it takes to make a fashion-tech collaboration work.
Vogue: This is Beats’ first co-design with a sports brand. Why Nike?
This is a company I have admired for a long time. I don’t think there are many brands that do what they do in terms of product for performance and sport, but also how they connect with culture. At Beats, we have quality Apple products, associated with the passion, self-expression, and culture that characterizes the Beats brand. I think with collaborations, which everyone is doing these days, the best is to have a real relationship between two brands that match really well. They are really hard to find. But I think it’s good [x Beats] One of the clearest examples of the two brands that line up. I think you see how that comes to life in the talent we work with—there’s so much. So that’s what made it really special, especially with LeBron.
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