Tattoo artists continue to make their presence felt through fashion collaborations. Streetwear brands, especially those based in Japan, remain the leading players, but other partners are part of the landscape as well. Some examples from the past year give a sense of this sector: Sock brand Stance and tattoo artist Bert Krak paired in August […]
Archive | Lifestyle
Let It Snow
With winter approaching, retailers in northern climates are in the midst of the ski and après-ski wear season. The number of licensing partnerships and collaborations in this space remains strong, especially on the luxury end of the spectrum, with many initiatives pairing fashion-forward, high-end apparel labels with technical winterwear specialists. Some examples of collaborative capsule […]
Where There’s Smoke, There’s a Licensed Product
Barbecue restaurants, celebrity barbecue experts, and barbecue lifestyle brands have been particularly active in collaborations and brand extensions over the past couple of years, jointly creating new menu items, retail sauces and seasonings, and related products: This past August, Memphis barbeque restaurant Rendezvous, a favorite of Elvis Presley, paired with the singer’s estate for an […]
Stretching Out the Balletcore Trend
The current iteration of the “balletcore” trend, which sees the fashion industry creating ballet-inspired apparel, accessories, and footwear items for consumers in all walks of life, began in the early 2020s and hit its peak in 2023 and 2024. But the style is still hanging on, and in fact seems to be gaining new life […]
Licensed Mahjong Sets Are Multiplying
Licensing and collaboration deals involving mahjong sets are proliferating as the pastime continues to gain popularity beyond its home region of Asia, including in the U.S. market. The properties dipping their toes into the category are expanding beyond the art, lifestyle, and fashion labels that first gained a foothold and remain common partners. Meanwhile, the […]
Getting All the Ducks in a Row
Rubber ducks, always around as playthings and symbols of positivity, playfulness, and simpler days, tend to see periodic surges in interest. This is one of those times. Although it is hard to say what specifically is driving this iteration of the trend, some of the manifestations include the current popularity of duck races to spur […]
Falling in Love with Romance Merchandise
IPs tied to romance books are expanding their footprint in the licensing business. Licensees and retailers, particularly bookstores, have been asking for merchandise to reach these books’ loyal and large fan bases. New partners for romance properties include a growing list of traditional licensing-business manufacturers and retailers, in addition to marketers of “bookish” merchandise. The […]
Spreading the Love for Butter-Themed Collabs
By Karen Raugust on March 12, 2026 in Design and content themes, Food/Beverage, Licensing, Lifestyle
Butter began catching on as a pop-culture phenomenon in the early 2020s, attracting significant mainstream notice in 2025 and remaining top of mind in early 2026. The trend manifests itself in many ways. Flavored butters (from truffle and miso to cinnamon-sugar), and butter boards for mixing and serving them, are everywhere online (hashtag #ButterTok). There […]
Cowboy Boot Collabs Are Riding High
Within the long-running western trend in fashion — sometimes called “cowboycore” — cowboy boots represent a niche that deserves a closer look. A steady stream of collaborations has come to light in this category of late, mostly limited editions, involving specialist cowboy boot marketers as well as broader footwear brands. Country singers have been particularly […]
Japandi Design: Wabi-Sabi Meets Hygge
By Karen Raugust on February 24, 2025 in Design and content themes, House and home, Licensing, Lifestyle
The concept of Japandi has been trending for at least a decade, mostly in the context of interior design focused on high-end homes and luxury hotels. The minimalist movement combines the Japanese practice of wabi-sabi, which is about slow living, simplicity, and contentment, with the complementary Scandinavian philosophy known by different names in each country but […]