Ralph Lauren to Team With Chance the Rapper

The artist will perform a special event in September to celebrate the brand’s Bitmoji launch.

In what may be fashion’s most creative pairing, Ralph Lauren has tapped Chance the Rapper to create what the company is calling “a pre-performance experience” in September to mark the launch of the Ralph Lauren x Bitmoji collection.

As reported, the brand has partnered with Snap to create a virtual wardrobe for Bitmoji, an application in which users create avatars of themselves. The collaboration will launch with 12 branded Ralph Lauren customizable items that are shoppable through Ralph Lauren retail stores and through camera technology collaborations. The pieces include double-breasted blazers, a racer jacket, a striped rugby shirt and a track jacket.

Although details about Chance’s performance are being kept under wraps for now, his avatar will be dressed in looks from Ralph Lauren. The rapper is a longtime fan of the brand and is often spotted wearing the collection on and off stage.

The deal with Snap is intended to bring the Ralph Lauren brand to a younger, more tech-oriented audience.

“Ralph Lauren is excited to embark on this innovative partnership with Snap,” said Alice Delahunt, Ralph Lauren’s chief digital officer. “With Ralph Lauren’s respected reputation as a global leader within the luxury fashion space and Snap’s undeniable creative prowess and expansive reach to a younger consumer, we feel inspired to explore disruptive ways to tell our brand’s story, drive social commerce and engage with a new generation in an authentic and empowering way.”

Selby Drummond, Snap’s head of fashion and beauty, added that the partnership is “an expansive and holistic venture to bring the Ralph Lauren brand into the digital world. Bitmoji is the world’s most personal avatar, and with a new virtual wardrobe experience, it’s possible to feel even more closely and authentically connected to your avatar when wearing the Ralph Lauren labels you love. We’re thrilled to see Ralph Lauren leading the way as brands embrace the world of digital fashion.”

Ralph Lauren and Snap have also collaborated on a regional mural initiative, called the Polo Public Art project, where graffiti artists in New York, Chicago and Dallas were commissioned to create artwork celebrating the brand’s Polo shirt. The wall art is enabled with augmented reality animation that is activated by using Snap Codes.