Keeping up with Fashion Licensing Trends

Whether it’s toys or food or fashion, License Global closely follows consumer trends. What licensed products and deals are perched atop the heap? What’s been happening? What might we expect to see coming down the pike? License Global looks back over fashion trends seen in 2023 and forecasts likely trends we’ve extrapolated from our data.

Licensing International’s 2023 Global Licensing Industry Study found the Fashion category continued its share decline that began back in 2018, falling -0.3 share points to 8.7% of the market, dropping to the fourth-ranked share position for the first time since LI began running the Global Study. LI reported some modest growth of +3.8% in 2022 as product categories that traditionally license fashion brands (such as beauty aids, accessories, footwear and gifts) were on the uptick again in 2022.

Despite this decline, we’re still seeing fashion as a top news topic in licensing, with continued collaborations across entertainment, sports and shoes. Entertainment and licensing go together like peanut butter and jelly. In 2023, we saw that pairing manifest itself through some great licensed apparel, featuring everything from celebrities to comic characters and toys. In October, Poetic Brands announced it had received a new pan-European license from global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform, Authentic Brands Group, to design, manufacture and distribute apparel celebrating top-tier icons, Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe. But it’s not just celebrities from days gone by garnering fashion licensing deals. In December, Rolling Stone commemorated musician, Olivia Rodrigo’s, first solo cover on the music publication with a new line of limited-edition clothing produced in partnership with Geffen Records and Bravado, Universal Music Group’s brand management company. 

Related:Licensed Footwear Special Report: What’s on Your Feet

Rolling Stone’s Olivia Rodrigo hoodie.

The Character Collection

Evergreen characters appeal to consumers’ love of nostalgia as well as the kidult in all of us. And that appeal is global. Olive Oyl found her way onto loungewear in Brazil, while her salty cohort, Popeye, appeared on Brazilian streetwear, fashion collections in India and Hush Puppies in Chile. In November, American fashion and lifestyle brand, KITH, reprised its collaboration with Disney to create an extensive collection of elevated apparel, accessories and lifestyle goods to celebrate 100 years of Disney. KITH and Disney reimagined archival artwork of Disney characters, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck, to create a range of designs across jackets, hoodies, crewnecks, shirts, vintage tees and more.

Related:Outerstuff: Showcasing Fandom Through Fashion

Head-to-toe fashion ranges and licensed footwear deals were numerous throughout 2023. When people think about licensed footwear, it’s natural to start with sports and athletic shoes. There’s no question that the Air Jordan series revolutionized sports style and pop culture alike. In 2022, celebrity shoe collabs took a hit as high-profile scandals saw Nike and adidas severing ties with Kyrie Irving and Kanye West (now known as Ye). But licensed footwear is so much more than basketball sneakers.

We saw a definite uptick in shoe deals in Q3 as we headed into back-to-school season. There were over 30 deals in this space in August and September alone. PUMA led the pack with deals with Smurfs, Rip n Dip, The Met, Formula One and BMW. In September, PUMA announced Rihanna’s highly anticipated Fenty x PUMA Avanti, which was followed in short order by the return of Rihanna’s Creeper in November.

Crocs x McDonald’s line.

Getting Sporty

One area that saw big growth in 2023 was sports. LI’s 2023 Global Licensing Industry Study listed Sports as one of the top three-performing growth property categories in 2022, increasing by 19.5%. In that same report, 2.61% of industry leaders surveyed said they saw a big rebound in sports licensing in 2022. Sports and fashion deals abounded in nearly every category from NFL, NFLPA, MLB, NBA, several FC deals, Major League Soccer, tennis, Formula One and UFC.

Highlights include:

UFC x Celio

Fashion and Films

Many survey respondents in Licensing International’s 2023 Global Licensing Industry Study referenced what they called a continued “void” in new theatrical movie releases in 2022, with many commenting that classic character and film franchises were the best licensing performers during the year. Certainly, the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and Hollywood writers’ (Writers Guild of America) strike had a detrimental effect on the industry and subsequently on licensed consumer products. Still, according to BNN, the film industry concluded 2023 with a striking surge in box office sales, reaching $9 billion in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Movies often mean fashion collections, frequently with items like T-shirts and shoes launching well before the film’s release. Ground Up International launched a new high-top sneaker in collaboration with Foot Locker Kids months before “Trolls Band Together” premiered in November. “Wonka” merch, including Converse sneakers, socks and sweatshirts hit the market well ahead of the film’s holiday premiere. Which leads us to the pink elephant in the room … “Barbie.”

Almost a full year before the blockbuster “Barbie” film hit theaters, we saw Barbiecore and Barbie fashion seemingly everywhere we looked, from fast-fashion retailer, Forever 21, to French fashion label, Balmain. Once the film took off, so did the fashion licensing deals. Vans teased a Barbie collab (yet to be released), and Spirit Halloween banked on Barbie being at the top of the Halloween costume parade. What can top “Barbie” and perhaps influence new fashion trends in the coming years? It’s hard to predict, but in December, Mattel, Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment announced plans to develop a live-action feature film based on the American Girl doll line.

Barbie apparel

What to Expect in Fashion Trends in 2024

From accessories to apparel, trends in fashion shift with the times. As we enter 2024, here’s what to expect in fashion trends, and how to apply that to licensing business goals.

Artificial Intelligence and Fashion

In 2023, Adobe unveiled a dress that changes design using artificial intelligence. The fashion moment went viral, showing the dress shifting patterns on a live model at the software company’s 2023 Creativity Conference. Though the technology was just introduced, expect licensed fashion to get a lot more creative in the future. Imagine a sweater switching between multiple characters from a single IP or a pair of shoes with animated graphics from a video game. The possibilities are truly endless, and the introduction of this technology has now made it possible. Expect some form of licensed fashion with AI integrated to be launched this year.

Beauty Trends Shift

In the last two years, beauty influencers leaned into ultra-dewy skin, natural lips, thick, feathery eyebrows and simple eye makeup. Like anything else in fashion, beauty trends are shifting. Makeup artists have already begun shifting to soft matte skin, which has been dubbed “cloud skin” by influencers. More bold lip trends, like reddish-brown “cherry cola lips,” have begun going viral among the beauty community. Thin eyebrows inspired by Y2K trends have been making a comeback. All of these trends and more will show a shift in what consumers choose to buy, and what licensed products are launched as a result.

Fashionistas have been leaning into more pink, more bows and more feminine fashion choices. Glamour calls the trend “girlcore,” and expects it to grow in 2024. “Girly” nostalgic properties like My Little Pony, Polly Pocket, Bratz and more can benefit from this fashion trend, leaning into it when creating fashion collaborations.

Accentuating Accessories

From see-through shoes to towering platforms, footwear is getting wilder in 2024. Runways for 2024 lines have included shoes with slouchy silhouettes and fringe, unique peeps toes and big, chunky modern numbers. Fashion lovers will lean into bold shoe choices in 2024, with options such as Crocs continuing to grow in popularity (and in licensing deals).

Hefty handbags were seen on runways for 2024 fashion lines, with brands such as Tory Burch and Coach believing that for this year, bigger is better. Larger licensed bags are on the horizon, highlighting a more relaxed style amongst consumers. Recently, Concept One Accessories announced a line of handbags and luggage with Tommy Bahama, ready for this summer.

“We are very proud and excited to work with such a venerable and respected brand as Tommy Bahama,” says Sam Hafif, chief executive officer, Concept One Accessories. “We will be developing a handbag collection for summer 2024 using natural materials and straw with vegan leather trims and launching luggage and travel collections for holiday.  This is a brand that is timeless, and we plan to build the business with a long-term goal of establishing these as signature categories for the brand.”

Tommy Bahama’s line from Concept One Accessories.

Celeb Beauty

Celebrity beauty and fragrance lines continue to grow into 2024. Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty, Ariana Grande’s REM Beauty, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty and more continued to grow their lines in 2023. Beyoncé launched a website-exclusive fragrance for her fans amid her Renaissance Tour success. 2023 saw a lot in celebrity beauty, but 2024 is already off to a continuation of this trend. Billie Eilish’s “Eilish” fragrance line, for example, launched its third iteration at the beginning of the year.

Nostalgia Remains Strong

In fashion, nostalgia has propelled fashion forward for the past few years. Companies will continue to lean into classic IP iterations for licensed collaborations. Dumbgood released a collaboration with ’90s staple Paul Frank. McDonald’s Crocs collab in 2023 featured McDonald’s characters of the ’80s and ’90s.

“We wanted to tap into the current themes of nostalgia by spotlighting a few of our fan-favorite characters,” McDonald’s told License Global in December. “Whether our characters bring back memories from our fans’ childhood or we’re introducing them to the next generation of fans in a fun, relevant way – we wanted to build upon the moment our characters are having in culture.” 

This article was taken from February’s issue of License Global.