Toys Look Good in Designer Togs

Fashion and toys have come together for decades, from Mattel’s extensive collection of fashion dolls with designers like Bob Mackie (who has created 47 different versions of Barbie) to specialists such as Integrity Toys, whose offerings include the Jason Wu Collection. The past year has seen a flurry of activity in the fashion-meets-toy space, as a variety of fashion labels pair with toy and collectible companies. Most of the recent deals focus on collectible dolls or art toys, but some extend to other toy categories as well:

• Authentic Brands Group signed a global agreement with JAKKS Pacific in November that encompasses multiple ABG fashion and lifestyle brands, including Forever 21, Juicy Couture, Element, Roxy, Quiksilver, Prince, and Sports Illustrated. Unlike most of the other deals mentioned here, this one does not focus primarily on fashion dolls. The first products to debut in fall 2024 will be Quicksilver and Element skateboards, followed by a range of toys and toy-related products, as well as roller skates, volleyballs, and beach accessories, tied to all seven brands.

• Mattel’s newly relaunched Monster High brand teamed with Off-White for a collection of limited-edition Monster High dolls, with releases starting in October 2023. The range, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the label, features dolls dressed in runway fashions from throughout the decade-long history of the Off-White brand, some with the addition of Monster High details. New dolls in this Mattel Creations collection, dubbed Memorabilia, will continue to release into 2024. Of course Mattel has plenty of experience in this space with Barbie, which has attracted designers from Oscar de la Renta to Byron Lars and beyond for decades.

• Japanese streetwear brand BAPE partnered with Bandai’s Tamagotchi in October for a partnership that includes both BAPE-designed virtual pets and a capsule collection of co-branded, retro-style Tamagotchi x BAPE apparel including hoodies and graphic t-shirts. The Tamagotchi toys, along with neck straps and packaging, feature the colorful all-over camo designs for which the label is known.

• Two fashion labels paired with Japanese collectible toy line Be@rbrick, a frequent collaborator with licensed IP, in September for a custom figure in three sizes. The labels include streetwear brand Neighborhood and Emotionally Unavailable, a contemporary brand that also integrates streetwear elements. Bape, Dickies, and Anrealage are among the other fashion labels that have collaborated with Be@rbrick in the past.

• MGA Entertainment’s Bratz brand partnered with London-based experimental label Mowalola, led by creative director Mowalola Ogunlesi, for a premium, limited-edition line of collaborative products in December 2022. The collector dolls feature two Bratz characters, Jade and Felicia, with exclusive pieces designed for them. The fashions incorporate both elements from Bratz collections over the past 21 years and signature Mowalola designs including the Bundle Bag.

• In China, high-end collectible dolls are a hot trend, and fashion designers are entering the mix. PopMart’s collectible doll Mega Space Molly paired with fashion and lifestyle brand Beams in February 2023 and has also worked with other pop culture and art properties. Another doll, Dolores, partnered with denim brand Diesel to celebrate 520 Day (an unofficial Valentine’s Day) in May 2023. Three dolls wearing items from the label’s spring 2023 collection, along with its 1DR handbag, were given away to consumers who spent over a certain amount at Diesel’s Tmall store and other online shops. And in June 2023, Gucci reteamed with Marsper, another collectible toy brand, for both physical and virtual collectibles dressed in four Gucci archival looks; the products launched on Children’s Day.

A heads-up that Raugust Communications has posted its annual look back at the licensing trends of the year. The piece recaps 20 of the notable happenings of the last 12 months, ranging from generative A.I. to gender-neutral fashion. You can read the piece here.

This will be RaugustReports’ last post for 2023; we will be back to our twice-weekly licensing trend coverage on Thursday, January 4. In the meantime, we wish everyone a happy, healthy, peaceful, and prosperous new year, and we’ll see you in 2024!