Fashion’s Hottest Accessory? The Water Bottle.
Water bottles, one-time standard issue camping gear, have rapidly become personal fashion statements that telegraph sustainability, a healthy lifestyle and, in many cases, fashion sense and status.
The shift has been building for several years, but with brands like S’well, Sigg, Soma, Hydro Flask, Klean Kanteen, Nalgene, Camelbak, BKR and Yeti gaining traction with consumers of all stripes, business has soared. The global reusable water bottle market was valued at $8.1 billion in 2018 with sales expected to increase 3.9% annually through 2025.
Tapping the Well
While outbound licensing of the brands has been limited – Yeti is one of the few with a program – there have been inbound deals stretching across fashion and entertainment.
The market has been driven in many cases by the cult-like status some brands have earned on social media. For example, when beauty and household brands supplier Helen of Troy bought Hydro Flask four years ago, the brand was on the rise. But when VSCO Girls, who have 4.2 million followers on Instagram, adopted the metal water bottles as part of the latest version of their teen preppy style, sales soared.
Some other recent pairings:
- Long-time pack leader Nalgene put a fashion spin on its bottles through recent collaborations with Pantone, Supreme and retailers Wander and Urban Outfitters.
- S’well has more than 200 designs including a Frozen 2 offering as well as a collaboration with Swarovski that featured a $2,000 bottle covered with 6,000 crystals, sales of which benefitted the Breast Cancer Awareness Fund.
- Bottled water brand Evian edged into the business via a limited edition collection with premium bottle brand Soma, after hiring Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director Virgil Abloh to design the line.
- And as with any other hot fashion accessory, there is of course the element of celebrity status. Actor Jonah Hill is often seen with his $60 sticker-covered Hydro Flask, actress Jennifer Garner is rarely seen far from her BKR bottle and fashion brand Prada even designed its own product to blend with its handbags.
