Sainsbury’s has scored a social media hit after responding to the undeniable observation that the latest collection from Ivy Park, the fashion label owned by Beyoncé, uses more or less exactly the same colour palette as the uniforms of the UK supermarket.
Beyoncé launched Ivy Park in 2016 in partnership with Sir Philip Green’s Topshop, but in 2018 her company Parkwood Entertainment took over full ownership after Green faced allegations of sexual harassment, which he denied.
The musician then teamed up with Adidas to launch a new collection, which first appeared in a photoshoot in Elle last month.
While the comparison may have been lost on fans in the US and elsewhere, UK members of the Beyhive could not help but notice the similarity between the new gear and the uniforms that can be seen in more than 1,400 Sainsbury’s stores.
On Saturday, Sainsbury’s acknowledged the comparison with its own post on Twitter featuring a fashion-style photo with the text "the original" and the hashtag #SainsBey, in an idea from Gravity Road.
Repping since 1869 ??
— Sainsbury's (@sainsburys)
Along with almost 17,000 "likes", the post generated an angry response from some of the Lemonade singer’s most loyal Stans (overzealous fans), who retorted with references to Sainsbury’s sales performance and share price – as though the retailer fancied itself as a bona fide fashion rival to perhaps the world’s most high-profile celebrity.
Since 1869 and Beyoncé did it better in less than year
— Green Chyna (@CORNYASSBITCH)
The share price is just so funny to me
— soldoutstadiums | fan account (@taeyonce_b7)
The post also inspired TikTokkers to create their own tributes to what could be one of the year’s hottest brand crossovers.
THE best tiktok ever created
— ig: megolivr (@MegO1iver)
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