Plus-size apparel collaborations started to take off in earnest more than a decade ago, around 2014, with designers and celebrities like Isabel Toledo, Lela Rose, Ashley Graham, and Gabi Gregg leading the charge. The trend evolved quickly, moving from addressing a gap in the marketplace with the creation of specialized plus-size collections to including plus-size […]
Archive | Licensing
Pickleball: More Players, More Products
Pickleball participation increased 56% in 2024, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, marking the third year in a row that the sport has seen annual growth of 50% or more. While the number of new pickleball-related licensed product initiatives seems to have died down a bit compared to earlier in the sport’s short lifespan […]
Cheesy Fashion Choices
Food imagery in fashion has been a hot topic over the past few years, with the trend coming to a peak in 2024 and interest continuing into 2025. Licensed brand names are part of it, from Kate Spade’s M&Ms and Heinz ketchup bags to Huemn’s shirts, t-shirts, and hoodies with Lay’s. The idea is to […]
Movie Fans: Passionate But Disorderly
A handful of recent film releases, most based on underlying properties with major licensing programs backing them, have been in the news lately for the in-theater behaviors of some of their fans. These audience members sing at key times, yell out dialog, throw things at the screen, or otherwise interact with the film, often spurred […]
An Important Slice of the Kitchenware Market
Chefs consider a high-quality set of knives to be integral to success in the kitchen, and the same is true for sophisticated home cooks. Not surprisingly, a number of celebrity chefs have lent their names and expertise to licensed cutlery over the years, including the following examples from the past 12 months. Like many chef-licensed […]
Fashion Labels Shoot and Score with Hockey
As is true of almost all property types, sports IPs have increasingly been collaborating with designers and fashion brands. These are collections that are more fashion-forward or otherwise innovative, and typically more premium-priced, than traditional licensed fanwear ranges. Hockey—which is, in North America, currently deep in the first round of the National Hockey League (NHL) […]
Putting the Pop in Pop Culture
Pairings of character IPs with soda pops and other soft drinks are not a new phenomenon, but there has been a recent surge in interest in such partnerships globally. While most initiatives are promotional, spearheaded by the marketing departments of film and TV studios and accompanied by other promotional techniques like exclusive content or contests, […]
Luxury Labels Wage A Charm Offensive
Bag charms have been a notable accessory in the luxury handbag sector over the last year or so, part of a broader ongoing trend pairing fun with high-end fashion. The craze has also been driven by the industry’s current focus on Y2K-era retro styles. Miu Miu and Balenciaga were among the labels that notably highlighted […]
Back to Nature
Merchandise pairing licensed properties and brands with entities overseeing public parks, or the advocacy groups supporting them, has for many years represented one way to raise money and awareness for these public spaces. Whether involving national park systems or local park organizations in the U.S. or other countries, examples have come to light on a […]
Anime Is a Hit at Baseball Games
Major League Baseball and its teams, whose 2025 season began late last month, have been increasingly teaming with a variety of Japanese pop-culture properties for products and promotions. Japanese-origin IPs from the worlds of anime, kawaii, videogames, and VTubers are a good fit with the sport in many ways. The league and its teams, especially […]