Characters on the Runway

One indication of the ongoing importance of pairings between high-fashion labels and licensed properties from outside the world of fashion is the strong presence of such collaborations at the spring and fall Fashion Weeks and Design Weeks in the world’s capitals of high fashion. These have become key moments to debut joint collections on the runway—or at adjacent events—in front of celebrities, retailers, and the press.

Examples from 2017, for example, took place in:

• London. Designer Bobby Abley showed a collaboration with DHX’s Teletubbies; Mimi Wade touted her partnership with CPLG’s Pink Panther; Fyodor Golan trained a spotlight on Cartoon Network’s Powerpuff Girls; and Peter Jensen, Salar, Bad Denim, Maria Francesca Pepe, Suecomma Bonnie, and Abley highlighted their pairings with Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants.
• New York. The Blonds dressed their models in one-of-a-kind designs inspired by NBCUniversal’s The Mummy.
• Paris. KOCHÉ, a French label, promoted its pairing with the Paris Saint-Germain football club.
• Milan. The Rodnik Brand and high-end furniture maker Altreforme introduced their collaboration with Perfetti Van Melle’s Chupa Chups at Milan Design Week, while swimwear maker Yes I Am! launched its collaboration with the same licensor’s Mentos brand.

Examples are not limited to these major hubs of fashion, as exclusive designer partnerships debut each season on runways all around the world. In 2016, Sergey Sysoev premiered his collection with Twentieth Century Fox’s Ice Age franchise at Moscow Fashion Week. And, of course, attendees can see an abundance of designer-plus-designer partnerships at runway shows globally, in addition to the sorts of mash-ups listed here.

The character-collaboration phenomenon at Fashion and Design Weeks is not new; in fact, the trend has been top-of-mind in the world of luxury design for nearly a decade. That said, it is interesting to see how often licensed characters continue to be featured in these high-profile, high-fashion events.

A reminder: Raugust Communications’ monthly e-newsletter will be distributed tomorrow, October 17, 2017. The Licensing Topic of the Month looks at the way licensors are increasingly generating incremental sales by targeting narrow, specific consumer groups with licensed products and promotions; the monthly research spotlight, Datapoint, focuses on licensed educational products for children. Subscribe to this free publication here.