Property owners in the realms of entertainment, sports, and celebrity licensing, on the hunt for ways to put new spins on their properties, are increasingly launching collections focused on villainous characters, both fictional and real:
- Disney was the pioneer in this technique, launching its Disney Villains brand many years ago and regularly offering products under that banner since then. It even has a live show centered on the concept at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Collaborations have included Fortnite skins, Bésame cosmetics, Jujube bags, and Allure black bridal gowns, among many others. The company has also expanded the concept to some of its other character families, forming partnerships with Team Liquid for Star Wars Villains products including apparel and keyboards, and with Kith and Asics for Marvel SuperVillains sneakers (plus custom comics), to name two examples.
- In March 2025, rapper Travis Scott’s lifestyle brand Cactus Jack offered a WWE t-shirt with the phrase “Wrestling is Real,” featuring a photo from Elimination Chamber 2025. The image captured a moment from a plot line from the event involving several well-known wrestlers: John Cena became a “heel” and assaulted Cody Rhodes, with help from La Flame and The Rock. Scott is a WWE fan—the name Cactus Jack is after the alter ego of wrestler Mick Foley—and was involved in the stunt as well. The story depicted on the shirt occurred in the lead-up to WrestleMania 41, which pitted Cena and Rhodes battling for the championship. Cactus Jack released a broader Wrestlemania 41 collection of apparel as well.
- In February of this year, Fortnite collaborated with Crunchyroll to offer limited-edition skins, weapons, emotes, and other digital items based on villains from the anime/manga property Jujutsu Kaisen. The villains included Sukuna, Mahito, and Toji. The items were available for purchase and download on the Fortnite store.
- The Snoop Dogg-owned record label and fashion brand Death Row Records introduced a Death Row Hockey jersey collection in collaboration with five current and former NHL players in June 2024. The jerseys featured images incorporating the likenesses of Arber Xhekaj, Chris Nilan, Ryan Reeves, Denver Barkey, and Georges Laraque, all of whom have reputations as enforcers on the ice and have accrued lots of penalty minutes.
- The Australian wine company 19 Crimes—inspired by the British prisoners who helped found a colony on the island after being shipped there because they were sentenced for one of 19 specified crimes—is known for its augmented-reality labels where famous historical criminals tell their stories. It added modern-day celebrities to its roster through collaborations with famous arrestees, led by Snoop Dogg, who has been involved with several different wines with the company (six of his California blends are currently available on its website) and last year added cocktails. 19 Crimes also collaborated with Martha Stewart in 2022 and entered the entertainment space with two Halloween collections featuring the Universal Monsters in 2023 and 2024.
Initiatives such as these, and similar examples, are not likely to surpass the traditional focus on heroes and other positive role models in product collaborations. But they offer a fun departure from the norm to help keep fans interested and engaged with a property or brand. And villainous collections can often serve as an incentive for fans to buy, even if they already own a full complement of merchandise based on a given IP.
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