Polaroid Launches Limited Edition David Bowie-Themed Instant Film
Polaroid is more firmly tying a line between music and its camera-based brand with the launch of David Bowie-themed i-Type instant film.
The company is launching 10 total unique Bowie frames which are available in packs of eight, so photographers who want to collect them all will need to purchase at least two packs since Polaroid doesn’t specify if each pack will always include all unique designs or if it is possible to receive duplicates.
i-Type film is the company’s latest generation instant film made for its Polaroid Now+, Polaroid Now, and Polaroid Lab cameras. While i-Type film is available in both black and white and full color, this particular run of limited edition David Bowie frames is only available in full color.
Polaroid describes the launch as a “limited-edition drop” which features 10 unique Polaroid frame designs resembling the iconic artwork and imagery of classic David Bowie albums. Each frame is inspired by a different Bowie era or persona, but a majority of them feature Bowie’s name in some fashion.
This isn’t the first time Polaroid has experimented with unique frames for its instant film, though it is the first major branded partnership on them. The company currently offers black, white, gold, red, and metallic spectrum-colored frames of i-Type film.
While a themed film frame is new, partnerships with the camera brand are not. Polaroid had experimented with a series of fashion partnerships, including a clothing and camera collaboration with Fendi, a camera and sandal collaboration with Teva, and a camera and full clothing line partnership with Lacoste. All three of those partnerships came prior to May of 2021, so it’s not clear if Polaroid intends to revisit such collaborations or if they didn’t see enough of a brand boost to make them worthwhile.
Since then, the company has leaned more heavily into music. Last September, the company launched a set of brightly-colored Bluetooth speakers along with a music streaming service as part of its plan for “The Future of Polaroid.”
Like many of its films, Polaroid says the David Bowie-themed i-Type frames film is manufactured in the Netherlands and a single pack is available for $19.99. Even though Polaroid offers them in bundles of three or five packs, the price per pack remains the same.
Image credits: Header photo by Chris Sim. Photos of Pixx (@pixxmusic) by Holly Whitaker (@hollyemmw)
