Hybrids of luxury and mass-market brands remain in vogue

Ferrari Maserati threw a VIP-only bash at its showroom in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, organized by Ferrari Maserati of Hong Kong and I.T. The guest of honor was a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 decorated in the signature camouflage motif of the clothing company A Bathing Ape.

Swedish fast-fashion giant H&M has become the virtuoso in high and low fashion 'crossover' marketing, having partnered with Lanvin, Versace, Jimmy Choo and most recently Maison Martin Margiela.

Japanese wallet-friendly fashion brand Uniqlo is currently collaborating with low-key but high-end Japanese fashion brand UNDERCOVER to offer 'UU - clothing for the families of today'. Uniqlo has previously worked with Jil Sanders.

Japanese high fashion brand Kenzo joined forces with Vans to create a summer footwear collection featuring colours from the Parisian brand's spring 2012 runway--bright blue, white, green and red. "Since our childhood in suburban L.A., we've been fans of Vans and own too many pairs to count," said Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, creative directors at Kenzo. "Vans is one of the iconic American brands, and we liked the idea of infusing this bit of American style into the house of Kenzo."

Pepsi and A Bathing Ape have rolled out a crossover marketing campaign this summer for the launch of the clothing retailer's new subbrand, AAPE. A Bathing Ape is a Japanese brand owned by Hong Kong-based fashion house I.T. The campaign includes two co-branded, special-edition cans and a series of limited premiums, including umbrellas, notebooks, and T-shirts.

In 2011, the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Gucci brand, Fiat and the Florence-based label presented the "500 by Gucci", billed as an important partnership between two brands that have always expressed Italian genius and creativity across the world.

The late Alexander McQueen was known for breaking social conventions, so perhaps it's not surprising that he established the Alexander McQueen Puma label in 2005. His ‘nonconformist yet reverent’ nature lives on in current McQueen collections.

Italian luxury brand Prada and Korean electronics maker LG have extended their collaboration and in addition to an Android smartphone, they also offer a new Bluetooth headset, the Prada Bluetooth by LG HBM-906.

Hello Kitty was created by the Sanrio company in 1974 as a greeting card. Today, the little white kitten has expanded into a vast array of merchandise, as well as a collaboration with fashion brand Swarovski, which launched its first Hello Kitty Autumn/Winter Collection in 2011. So popular is the feline that Taiwan’s Eva Airways decorated one of its Airbus A330-300 aircraft with the character, inside and out: Flight-attendant uniforms, headrests, bathroom amenities, boarding passes, luggage tags, meals and even air-sickness bags were all imprinted with the Sanrio character.

Stella McCartney, daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, collaborated with GapKids on a line that became the talk of the playground. Some petite women even snapped up the largest-sized pieces for themselves.

In 2007, Kate Moss and Topshop began an exclusive collaboration. Inspired by Moss's wardrobe and designed to capture the models' unique sense of style, Kate Moss for Topshop was one of the most hotly anticipated high-street collaborations. When the first collection launched, Moss stopped traffic by appearing in the window of the brand's Oxford Circus flagship store. The supermodel went on to develop 14 collections for the brand.