Head First

The head seems to be the new center of social expression when it comes to showing one’s love for an entertainment property, as all manner of headwear features eye-catching, sculptural representations of favorite characters:

• Plush hoods and hats. Companies such as Elope feature plush headwear with representations of characters including Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ The Grinch and Disney’s Hank and Nemo from Finding Dory.
• Headbands. Unicorn horns and eyeballs on headbands are all the rage among toy companies’ assortments, with licensed examples ranging from Wicked Cool’s editions sporting Pikachu’s yellow ears to Tomy’s kitten-eared versions connected to the PBS series Nature Cat. A wide variety of character properties have been captured in this form by a range of licensees.
• Knitted hats. Hats for kids and adults can feature three-dimensional ears, eyes, horns, or braids. Elope has knitted beanies representing a Dalek from Doctor Who, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and characters from Disney’s Zootopia, while a trip through Etsy shows the popularity of figural knitted hats emulating popular characters, albeit in unlicensed form. Firms such as Beardo, which offers winter hats shaped like a Chthulu-like octopus or a Viking with full knitted beard, show the sophistication possible through knitting; the company has not been involved in licensing to date, although it does supply branded versions for corporate promotions.
• Helmets. Raskullz makes bike helmets in the likenesses of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ heads, among others, while Bell Sports offers Hello Kitty helmets for young bicyclists, complete with ears and bow. HJC creates figural motorcycle helmets of Spiderman, Iron Man, and other Marvel superheroes.
• Sun visors. Parents increasingly recognize the importance of their kids wearing sunglasses, and companies such as SunStaches make compliance more likely by creating visors that integrate sunglasses into IronMan’s mask or Minnie Mouse’s big bow.

The wide usage of these types of products, with everyone from kids through millennial adults wearing them to school, at play, on their commutes, and even to work, has brought them well beyond the realm of novelty and into everyday life.