Collaborators Profile: Opening Ceremony Is A Giant Brand That Values Human Relationships

Opening Ceremony’s founding principles are exploration and friendship.

The ways in which Opening Ceremony have explored the world of high-end fashion since its founding in 2002 are striking and obvious. Few upstart fashion houses have been so brave and experimental as Opening Ceremony in their relatively young history. Their seasonal creations are unique reworks of on-trend fashions, or sometimes the exact opposite: the Opening Ceremony X Teva 2014 Spring/Summer Collection, which featured a collection of technical birkenstocks, was as crazy a concept as you’ll find in 2014 thus far. The René Magritte X Opening Ceremony X Vans 2014 Spring Authentic sneakers featured a whole series of faces from Magritte’s most famous pieces.

Opening Ceremony X René Magritte X Vans and Opening Ceremony X Teva

The company, that UC Berkeley grads Carol Lim and Humberto Leon founded over 14 years ago, has made their name with exploration and been rewarded handsomely for it. They’ve collaborated with such heavyweight brands as DKNY, adidas Originals, Maison Martin Margiela, Topshop and Pendleton, opened stores all around the world, and taken over creative duties at French fashion house Kenzo.

Opening Ceremony X Yoko Ono

But where Opening Ceremony really shines is in their human relationships. Where most brands focus their collaborative efforts on working with other brands, Opening Ceremony isn’t afraid to work directly with creative individuals. This includes artists, yes (like the René Magritte collaboration above), but also personalities, like actress and downtown-cool-girl Chloe Sevigny, artistic jack-of-all-trades/Beatles breaker-upper Yoko Ono, and bringer of creative madness Terrence Koh.

Opening Ceremony X Spring Breakers and Opening Ceremony X Spike Jonze

Opening Ceremony’s curation of Spike Jonze’s films Her and Where The Wild Things Are introduced a whole new aspect of clothing collaboration. Don’t forget Spring Breakers, too. Whether you liked that flick or not, you had to like the special capsule that Opening Ceremony and costume designer Heidi Bivens created as a tie-in to the film, as well as the Spring Breakers x Opening Ceremony “4Ever” lookbook that photographer Annabel Mehran and a gaggle of models put together.

When you’re a brand fighting to make your money in as competitive and creative a game as high-end/streetwear fashion, you need to have guiding principles. “Exploration and friendship” are as good a set as any. Next time you’re in SoHo, NYC, pop into Opening Ceremony’s store and take a look for yourself.

Opening Ceremony
35 Howard Street,
New York, NY 10013