Margarita Vaisman is Marvel.com's Senior Fashion Correspondent. She goes where no fashionista has gone before, exploring styles and trends within the Marvel Universe and beyond. (Photo by Judith Stephens)
Super heroes are about to get even more fashionable!
Marvel's licensing department has teamed up with several cutting-edge t-shirt design firms—Junk Food, Mighty Fine, and Freeze—to come up with some of the coolest tees we've ever seen, featuring tons of your favorite Marvel characters. This Juniors line is aimed at young women—don't to be too jealous, guys!
The t-shirts have retro designs and clever slogans giving them a sense of hip timelessness and fun. You've got Johnny Storm on a t-shirt proclaiming "My Boyfriend is Hot," Hulk bursting through another proclaiming "I Heart Muscles" and Captain America adorning a shirt claiming, "My Boyfriend is Captain of My Team." Many of the shirts are washed out screen prints with muted colors, to give them a worn-in feel, like you could have owned them your whole life.
"The popularity of super heroes and specifically Marvel super heroes has skyrocketed over the last few years," said Kim Cauley, Vice President of Licensing at Freeze. "We know that there has always been a female following of the comic books but the movies have made the female interest explode. We recently went on a trend shopping trip to Europe and super hero inspired apparel was everywhere from London to Berlin."
Super hero designs are not only on the cutting edge of fashion, as evidenced by 2008's
Superhero: Fashion and Fantasy exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
There's also a strong nostalgia factor.
"We are inspired by the essence of things; the reason why certain images connect with certain people for their entire lives. Marvel is no different," explained Adam Derry, Director of Sales and Marketing for Junk Food Clothing. "Whether you grew up reading comic books or seeing Marvel movies or maybe jumping off the back of your couch pretending to sling a web at your brother, you have a connection. Our job is to connect you back to those memories. And that's what we've been doing with Marvel."
So how has the reaction to the t-shirts been so far?
"The responses from our retail partners and customers have been phenomenal! They feel that our Marvel assortment is feminine, fun, and refreshing," said Richard Magana, Public Relations Manager of Mighty Fine. "Our retail partners are also excited about the variety of fashion bodies, fabrics and treatments/trims such as studs, foil and vintage washes. They feel that these elements are bringing Marvel apparel to a new level and opening up a new segment within the Juniors market."
Junk Food, Freeze, and Mighty Fine are doing a stellar job putting our classic heroes on t-shirts that a new generation of fans will love. As one of the tees proclaims, "Every girl loves a super hero."
Marvel Juniors t-shirts are available at select department stores and specialty stores like Target, Bloomingdales, and Urban Outfitters.
Photos by Judith Stephens
Thoughts on Marvel Style? Email marvelstyle@marvel.com.
Check out the official Marvel Shop for your favorite Marvel Heroes!
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