24 May 2026
Author
Tinker Society
1. NikeSKIMS
SKIMS is Kim Kardashian's shapewear and lifestyle brand, and their recent fashion marketing collaboration with Nike was something nobody saw coming. The NikeSKIMS Spring '26 Collection campaign was fronted by LISA of Blackpink, a rapper, dancer, and style icon whose personal identity sits perfectly at the intersection of performance and fashion, making her the ideal face for a campaign built around grace in motion and strength in form.
On paper, the two brands couldn't be more different. SKIMS is soft, inclusive, and body-focused. Nike is performance-driven, athletic, and aspirational. But that contrast was exactly the point. Inspired by the modern ballerina, the NikeSKIMS collection showed how both brand identities could coexist in a single product line without either one compromising what made them distinctive.
The lesson? The most powerful brand collaborations find the unexpected overlap between two audiences and build a product and campaign around that shared truth. Grace, confidence, and femininity lived in both brands all along. NikeSKIMS just made it visible. When choosing a collab partner, look beyond surface-level fit and ask what your customers genuinely have in common.
2. Rhode by Hailey Bieber
Rhode is Hailey Bieber's skincare brand, built around one aesthetic: glazed, dewy, effortlessly cool skin. In a few short years it became one of the fastest-growing independent beauty brands in the world, with its Peptide Lip Treatment becoming one of the most viral beauty products of the decade. In 2025, Rhode was acquired by e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1 billion, proof of how effectively the brand had built real commercial value, not just cultural buzz.
The standout campaign was a limited-edition pimple patch collaboration with her beau Justin Bieber, dropped deliberately in time for Coachella. Rhode seeded the product to the right creators ahead of the launch and let TikTok marketing and Instagram marketing do the rest, turning a culturally timed product drop into a viral moment that felt spontaneous but was anything but.
The lesson? Building a brand around a clear, consistent aesthetic and backing it with a smart influencer marketing strategy and culturally timed campaigns creates real commercial value. Rhode didn't just build a following. It built a billion-dollar beauty business.
3. Chamberlain Coffee by Emma Chamberlain
Chamberlain Coffee is social media influencer Emma Chamberlain's specialty coffee brand. Emma built her following on authenticity, unfiltered, self-aware content that made her feel like the most relatable person on the internet. Chamberlain Coffee is a direct extension of that identity.
What makes the brand stand out is its Instagram marketing. The content is consistently high quality, vibrant product photography and a visual identity so distinct you'd recognise it mid-scroll without seeing the logo. Every shot feels intentional, whether it's a close-up of the product or Emma herself styled against a tiled café wall. It's aspirational without being unattainable, and aesthetic without feeling cold.
The lesson? In food and beverage marketing, your Instagram feed is your storefront. Chamberlain Coffee proves that a strong, consistent visual identity is one of the most powerful brand-building tools a consumer brand can invest in.
While all 3 brands are different, their strategies share the same underlying principles. They're culturally timed, visually consistent, and built on authentic audience connection.
For brands, the takeaway is clear, the celebrity isn't always the strategy. The strategy is the strategy. And every principle on this list is accessible to brands of any size, with the right thinking and the right team behind them.
Ready to build campaigns that converts? Tinker Society is a social media marketing agency in Kuala Lumpur specialising in influencer marketing, Instagram content, and campaign strategy for Malaysian brands. Slide into our DMs via our Instagram @tinkersociety or drop us an email at wink@tinkersociety.com to find out how you can get started.