Marvel Debuts Fashion Line, Nine Licensees on Board

The super heroes of Marvel Entertainment are getting a feminine touch in a new fashion brand called Marvel Juniors. Nine licensees have already jumped on board.

The female-targeted licensing program will span categories such as lifestyle apparel and accessories featuring the entertainment company's popular super heroes and villains. Merchandise will be sold at mass market, mid-tier, department stores and boutiques.

Deals already secured include Junk Food for fashion tops (The Gap department and specialty stores); Mighty Fine for fashion tops (mid-tier, department and specialty stores); Fortune Fashions for fashion tops (mass market); Freeze for fashion tops (mass market and mid-tier); Biodome for hats, bags and small leather goods; H.E.R. Accessories for jewelry; Jakks Pacific/Disguise for costumes; Lotta Luv for cosmetics and bags; and iScream/Mines Press for journals, notebooks and paper products. Some of the line is currently in stores, including fashion tops at the Gap and Hot Topic, and jewelry from H.E.R. Accessories at Claire's. Further rollouts are expected for the holiday season and spring 2010.

"The Marvel Juniors program is an exciting new lifestyle brand that taps into our tremendous vault artwork to create merchandise that combines great art, fashion and nostalgia with trend-right style," says Paul Gitter, president of consumer products for North America at Marvel Entertainment. "This licensing program reinforces our ability to collaborate with licensees to create fashion-forward lines utilizing high-end art and designs, tailored to their specific audiences, and helps underpin our overall strategy to elevate the stature of our brands. Marvel Juniors addresses the increased demand from the highly-sought-after female demographic and will undoubtedly be a hit with the fashion-conscious consumer."