Archive | Licensing

Traveling in Style

Luggage and travel accessories partnerships have been a beneficiary of the travel industry recovery that has been ongoing since 2022. After a near-halt in new licensing and collaboration deals during the pandemic lockdowns, the category has become very active once again. Here are some of the deals, involving a variety of property types, that have […]

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Make-at-Home Margaritas and Martinis

Limited-edition cocktail kits have been bubbling up as a tool for promoting alcohol brands and their partner properties—ranging from entertainment IPs, celebrities, and sports events to food and beverage brands outside the spirits sector—as well as for engaging fans. With these products, consumers can experience the fun of opening the box and discovering what’s inside, […]

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Hair Stylists Head Into New Opportunities

Hair stylists are very frequent collaborators on signature collections with brands that offer hair care-related products and services. As these celebrities become more well known professionally and personally, through reality shows and social media, they have occasionally had opportunities to step into sectors outside of hair care as well, especially within the beauty space. Some […]

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Drink Up

Premium-priced, high-tech, fashion-forward drinkware aimed primarily at an adult consumer base interested in fitness and sustainability has been trending for close to a decade, with individual brands taking turns hitting it big on Tiktok and attracting crowds for new releases at retail. Most of the leading players have relied heavily on collaborations as a strategy […]

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Hoping for Happily Ever After

Earlier this year, two licensors reworked their deals with important licensees, granting them perpetual licenses within their categories. This is a relatively uncommon deal structure where a significant upfront payment, typically in lieu of an ongoing royalty, gives the licensee ownership of their category indefinitely, with the IP owner retaining rights to the underlying brand. […]

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Youth Movement

In the last year, fashion brands have been actively looking to the kids’ sector for growth opportunities, often by expanding their children’s businesses—or entering this sector for the first time—through licensing:  Superdry got into the kids’ space in a licensing deal with U.K. retailer Next, announced earlier this month. The 95-piece collection, which Next will […]

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Wearing Your Fandom at Your Wedding

Earlier this year, a deal between wedding gown maker Lulu Felice and manga artist Ai Yazawa produced a collection of wedding dresses and other wedding-appropriate formal wear tied to two of the artist’s properties, Nana and Neighborhood Story. Some of the pieces—each line features nine dresses and two tuxes—replicate gowns worn by the lead characters […]

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Sports Licensors Win with Wine

Historically, sports viewership has been much more associated with the consumption of beer than with wine. But that situation has been changing over the past few years as sports leagues, teams, and governing bodies have increasingly paired with wine marketers, opening up a new category for promotions and, in some cases, licensed products:  In July […]

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Hidden Treasure

A design technique that is currently trending in collaborative apparel collections is to hide meaningful text and graphics in linings, pockets, and collars where they are not visible, except to the owner of the piece. A few examples from the world of sports and sportswear this past summer illustrate:  Sportscraft, the long-time creator of the […]

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