K-pop and Characters Unite 

K-pop artists have long created cartoon-style characters as a way to promote their music and brands, with the creations appearing in music videos, marketing materials, and sometimes merchandise. Recently, K-pop soloists and groups alike have been pairing with existing characters — often from the Sanrio family — to create fashion and other products featuring themselves and their brands in collaboration with the IPs. 

Some examples from this year:

• K-pop-adjacent group Katseye paired with Sanrio and its Kuromi character, in a deal announced last week, to launch an array of fashion and other products at Target. The collection — which includes items such as graphic t-shirts, grey sweatsuits, beanies, stadium clear bags, canned boba and milk teas, packaged noodle soup, freeze-dried candy, slimes, and vinyl figurines — is timed to the release of Katseye’s new EP, Wild. While Katseye consists of members from around the world, who sing in English, the group was co-founded by the leading K-Pop label, Hybe (with Geffen), is known for its K-pop-style songs, and went through the K-pop training system. 
• Rapper and singer G-Dragon’s fashion brand PeaceMinusOne paired in June with Disney Korea and Pixar for a 70-piece Toy Story collection including apparel, collectible figures, lifestyle goods, and accessories. The designs featured characters including Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, Rex, Alien, and Forkey and incorporated PeaceMinusOne’s well-known daisy motif. The collection debuted in more than 10 cities in the Asia-Pacific region. 
• In January, K-pop star Jisoo, a member of Blackpink, paired with Sanrio’s Hello Kitty for a merchandise collection developed by MuseM, an IP company focused on artists, characters, and K-content, and CJ OnStyle, a South Korean e-commerce, m-commerce, and home shopping platform. The initial range of merchandise included five plush dolls and 11 character key chains. A pop-up shop supported the partnership. 
• Blackpink paired with Sanrio and My Melody in January for a collection timed to the group’s Deadline World Tour. The fashion included cropped puff jackets, hoodies, and mascot plushies, all with an edgy and modern streetwear look and a black and pink palette. Products were sold through the Weverse and YGEX online stores as well as pop-up locations and concert venues in Japan. 

Many of the examples to date have taken place in Asia. But, since both the K-pop acts and the characters have followings all around the world, it stands to reason that future examples could be increasingly global in nature. 

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