It’s fitting to begin this list with the Dior x Jordan I, a shoe that was first teased in late 2019 and which managed to drive discussion—amidst breathless anticipation—for months before it eventually released, in June and July of this year. No collaboration in 2020 has been quite as hyped as the luxurious, Italian-made Jordan I.

Beyond the undeniable hype, what made the Dior x Air Jordan I significant was that it represented the zenith of the high fashion and streetwear realms coming together. Supreme x Louis Vuitton was celebrated—or, in some cases, vilified—for bringing those two worlds together.

That being said, Supreme has a cultural cachet that’s inherently appealing to luxury brands and, as Louis Vuitton has been wont to remind people in recent years, the Parisian label has a history of embracing the “new luxury”. The Jordan I, while hyped, is not Supreme. It represents a simple piece of streetwear and sneaker culture—one which has been around since 1985, with popularity that has waxed and waned over the years. It’s a silhouette that, while always hard to come by in certain colorways, is actually relatively accessible in others. Where Supreme x Louis Vuitton could be considered Luxury taking a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”-approach to streetwear, Kim Jones’ second headline-grabbing luxury-streetwear mashup (keep in mind he was at the helm of Louis Vuitton before Dior) has an even bigger appeal. Sure, Supreme and the Jordan I are both hyped entities, but where Supreme remains hit-or-miss depending on the audience (or generation), few can deny the damn-near-universal appeal of a pair of Jordan Is.

The craftsmanship, premium leather construction and combination of the Dior Oblique print and Nike Swoosh are what made the shoe hyped—not to mention the exceptionally limited quantity and the fact that Kim Jones’ name was attached. They’re the same details that helped drive the resale price to princely sums. But even for those who don’t find something to like, aesthetically, there’s room to appreciate the significance of the Dior x Air Jordan I merely existing.

Fear of God for Ermenegildo Zegna is another collaboration that was teased early in 2020, having debuted at Paris Fashion Week in March, before ultimately being released in the latter part of the year. Llike the Dior x Jordan I, the very idea of Fear of God and Ermenegildo Zegna joining forces captivated people in the months leading up to the release.

The expansive collection represented “the modern man’s wardrobe […] rooted in freedom, sophistication, and elegance,” with an eclectic mix of materials, silhouettes and inspirations: jackets with low buttons and relaxed cuts, slim trousers, sportswear, workwear, tailoring—a true synthesis of both brands. Given Jerry Lorenzo’s penchant for bringing an upscale, conceptual edge to modern American streetwear, and Alessandro Sartori’s (designer at Zegna) history of bringing the refined Italian label into the modern age, it’s never really been a better time to bring these two thought-leaders and designers together.

Like with the Dior x Jordan I release, this collaboration was noteworthy for its significance, as much as the hype. Here were two brands, with drastically different styles, founded a century apart and on different continents—one representing traditional European luxury menswear and the other a contemporary American luxury. Yet, somehow, the collection worked, representing a crowning achievement for both Fear of God and new luxury, a decidedly American wave of high-end streetwear.

While technically released under Maison Margiela’s womenswear line, the MM6 x The North Face collection is best described as unisex.

Introduced during MM6’s Fall/Winter 2020 show at London Fashion week, the collaboration saw Maison Margiela reimagine a number of pieces from The North Face’s iconic Expedition System. Originally launched in 1990, the Expedition System was defined by outerwear and mid layers designed to be combined to tackle the harshest conditions—The North Face’s Summit Series represents the modern, high-performance incarnation of the Expedition System.

In keeping with the Expedition System’s design ethos, the garments were conceived to be layered together, with MM6 and The North Face creating a new zipper system that allowed pieces to be attached to the Mountain Circle Jacket, the outermost layer in the collection.

On the whole, the pieces were immediately recognizable. This, despite the fact that Maison Margiela radically altered the silhouettes, creating circular jackets and fleece vests, with openings for the arms on the sides, rather than sleeves. Rather than rely on the silhouette, MM6 and The North Face instead turned the collaborative collection into a study of each garment’s defining characteristics: the Nuptse’s quilting and contrast shoulders; the Denali’s bifurcated torso; the Mountain’s diagonal chest zips.

Over the years, Palace has worked with a diverse cast of collaborators, ranging from Avirex and Evisu to Ralph Lauren and adidas. It didn’t come as a surprise then, when the London-based skate brand announced a collaboration with Moschino. If anybody was going to collaborate with the most maximalist of Italian brands, it was going to be the tongue-in-cheek Palace.

Lev Tanju, founder of Palace, is a bit of a Moschino connoisseur, having long been a fan of the brand’s uniquely fun-yet-chic identity. One could even argue that Palace’s penchant for remixing iconic cultural symbols is inspired by Moschino’s own. Moschino designer Jeremy Scott highlighted the other aspect that made this collaboration interesting—and, arguably, inevitable—pointing out that the collection is “steeped in that British, 1990s, Moschino Jeans, going out to dance parties and raves culture and time,” something which Palace has explored previously.

The resulting collection was, to borrow a Britishism, massive. It featured hallmarks of both brands, from bold graphics and all-over print jeans to playful shearling jackets and curious accessories.

Considering the aesthetic match, Palace’s ability to turn anything it touches to gold and a heavy dose of '90s nostalgia, it’s not surprising that the collection ended up being exceedingly popular—and, in all likelihood, will end up going down in Palace lore.

Moncler’s Genius project has seen the outerwear pioneer collaborate with a number of brands in recent years, from J.W. Anderson to Fragment Design, becoming Moncler’s de facto incubator for collaborative collections. This makes Moncler’s collaboration with Rick Owens even more notable, because it fell outside the Genius program. Owens, too, is quite the accomplished collaborator; but, for the most part, it’s come in the form of footwear, which, again, makes Moncler + Rick Owens notable.

The collection debuted in early 2020, but was only released in October. As one might expect, it featured Moncler’s technology and lightweight insulation mixed with Owens’ trademark aesthetic and silhouettes, giving us a range of distorted quilting, bulbous outerwear and maximalist, almost animalistic, footwear. In typical Owens fashion, there was something so outlandish that it would have been implausible for any designer but him to undertake: A matte black tour bus insulated with Moncler fabrics—available for purchase through a custom order, because, again, it’s Rick Owens we’re talking about.

Salehe Bembury is one of the most celebrated—and successful—footwear designers in contemporary fashion—and rightfully so. In a decade, Bembury has gone from designing shoes for Payless to helping develop Cole Haan’s LunarGrand sole to working with Yeezy to his current position as vice president of men’s footwear for Versace. The American designer has also undertaken independent collaborations, none of which have inspired quite as raucous a reception as the Salehe Bembury x New Balance 2002R.

Released in October, Bembury’s 2002R drew inspiration from the unique landscapes of America’s southwest. With burnt orange, yellow, deep burgundy and the smallest touches of sky blue—not to mention the wispy, cloud like “N” logo—Bembury and New Balance paid homage to the sleek, almost otherworldly, color palette of the region’s National Parks.

But Bembury also paid tribute to the heritage of New Balance’s running shoes from the turn of the millennium, by using large-hole mesh and hairy suede, which harkened back to original iterations of the New Balance 2002 sneaker.

Above all else, though, this collaboration was noteworthy because it allowed Bembury—one of the faces of contemporary design—to have his own name on a sneaker.

Who hasn’t Stussy collaborated with this year?

But there’s a good reason: 2020 represents the Californian brand’s 40th anniversary—a considerable achievement in the fickle business that is streetwear. Stussy has a habit of celebrating its anniversaries in style, with a rash of collaborations; this year was, predictably, no different.

Stussy started the year with a limited-edition Comme des Garçons varsity jacket, which proved to be quite popular. It also set the stage for other high-profile collaborations, which covered the fashion spectrum from streetwear to high-end. Throughout the course of the year, Stussy worked with, among others: Our Legacy, on a well-received collection that saw the two brands upcycle archival Stussy fabrics from the ’90s; No Vacancy Inn, with sweats and relaxed tailoring fit for model A$AP Nast; Nike, on a number of sneakers and sportswear—including the Air Zoom Spridion Cage 2; Birkenstock on the iconic Boston silhouette; Givenchy designer Matthew M. Willians and the icons of Italian luxury, Loro Piana; and Gramicci.

On top of that, Stussy tapped some of the most respected designers in the world for a special series of World Tour T-shirts, with Virgil Abloh, Martine Rose, Marc Jacobs, Rick Owens and Takahiro Miyashita all lending their hands.

If you’ll pardon the pun, Stussy’s 40th anniversary collaborations reigned supreme in 2020.

The New York behemoth teamed up with Barbour in May, for a small collection that otherwise would’ve coincided with the 2020 edition of Glastonbury. The collaborative capsule featured Barbour’s signature waxed cotton, used on bucket hats, a waist bag and Barbour’s classic Field Jacket. What really made the collection stand out was the duo’s use of bold orange and leopard print, in addition to a more classic, understated black fabric.

Supreme x Barbour is exactly the kind of collaboration that Supreme has excelled at over the year—one that would seem unlikely before its announced but ends up making perfect sense. For all of Supreme’s regular collaborations with the likes of Vans, The North Face, [Nike](https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/supreme-nike-collab-history and others, it’s the surprising ones that have helped set Supreme apart over the years.

In a similar vein, it would have been foolish to rule out the fact that Supreme would eventually collaborate with Yohji Yamamoto, but it would be a stretch to say that it was expected.

Released in September, [the expansive capsule collection featured leather jackets, parkas, knits, tailoring, fleece, graphic T-shirts and accessories](https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/supreme-yohji-yamamoto-fw-20-collaboration. Mixing artwork and text into their clothing is something that both Supreme and Yamamoto have done over the years and the Fall/Winter 2020 collaboration saw artwork from Peter Saville, Sancheeto and Yuuka Asakura featured throughout the collection.

Perhaps most importantly, the capsule saw Supreme explore Yamamoto’s iconic painted leather jackets, which were available in black and red—a Supreme and Yamamoto color combination if ever there was one.

While it should surprise no one that the collaboration released to rave reviews (and a quick sell-through), the surprise pairing—though far from the first Supreme designer label collaboration—made the buzz surrounding the collection even more palpable.

Travis Scott’s partnership with McDonald’s is arguably the collaboration to end all collaborations—the project that epitomizes the rise of the collaboration and limited edition drop as a business practice. It’s also a partnership that reportedly netted the rapper a cool $20 million and the fast food chain countless millions more, with restaurants struggling to meet demand for Cactus Jack’s meal.

Of course, the collaboration was bigger than just Scott’s signature meal—a Quarter Pounder with cheese, topped with bacon, onions and shredded lettuce and accompanied by fries and a Sprite. A sizeable merch offering complimented the food, with everything from Cactus Jack and McDonald’s co-branded T-shirts and denim to a tray and Chicken McNugget pillow.

The fervor and hype that the collaboration generated didn’t only justify Travis Scott’s $20 million fee, it also earned him recognition for his unique ability to sell… well, things—namely by covering Forbes’ annual “30 Under 30” issue. It’s an ability that is, arguably, second to none. Who else would be able to have people lining up around the country for Quarter Pounders?

Uniqlo and German designer Jil Sander first joined forces in 2009 to launch the minimalist +J diffusion line. It was a short-lived endeavor, initially, having wrapped in 2011. This year, though, the duo revived the +J line, a move which allowed Sander to continue designing; Sander’s eponymous label is currently helmed by the couple Luke and Lucie Meier.

The capsule collection featured elevated, refined basics typical of Sander’s work over the years. But, unlike many of the other luxury basics being released in 2020, Sander and Uniqlo went to great lengths to avoid loungewear, seeking to offer up designs that represented pieces for a fresh start. “We need and wish for clothes that can give us the energy to pull through,” Sander told The Cut, “to feel respected and in possession of our wits.”

Some may have taken issue with Sander’s expressed, and slightly uppity, disdain for slovenly sweats, but few took issue with the +J goods. The outerwear, in particular has thus far proved to be particularly popular, though the entire line has been commercially successful—though that never should have been in doubt given Uniqlo’s stellar track record when it comes to collaborations.

Grace Wales Bonner is one of fashion’s underrated stars. The British designer has churned out impressive, original and interesting designs with surprising consistency over the years—which is no small feat. Really, the most surprising thing is that she hasn’t been tapped to helm a line other than her own eponymous one. While it’s an unfortunate reality, it made Wales Bonner’s collaboration with [adidas](https://www.grailed.com/designers/adidas all the more intriguing and noteworthy.

The collection, which included both footwear and apparel, was inspired by the profound influence that Jamaican music had on British culture in the 1970s. The retro ’70s influence is mainly seen in the apparel—with track suits and soccer jerseys—but the footwear, too, has roots in the ’70s, with Sambas finished with bold, oversized hand-stitched and crochet details, and the SL 72, a retro runner also reimagined. Often, brands working with a sportswear giant like adidas or Nike are tempted to stick to exclusively to branded sportswear—sometimes the Three Stripes or Swoosh insist on it—but, Wales Bonner’s adidas collection also included knit turtlenecks and safari jackets.

It’s also interesting to note that adidas is slowly starting to put down important roots in London—first with Palace, then Craig Green and now with Wales Bonner. London has long been central to Nike’s cultural footprint and it seems like adidas is attempting to make up lost ground. With Wales Bonner x adidas, they can comfortably lay claim to the best sportswear collaboration to come out of the British capital in 2020.

Wales Bonner x adidas will not go down as the most hyped and highly-anticipated release of 2020, but it’ll go down as a strong contender for the year's top spot.