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David Lynch’s Blue Velvet turns heads at Paris Fashion Week with Italy’s Off White collection

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The David Lynch American neo-noir mystery Blue Velvet has become the focus of a new licensed fashion line, created by the Italian luxury label, Off White. The collection – developed in collaboration with MGM Studios – was unveiled at Paris Fashion Week.

It includes stylish tees and slacks that feature imagery from 1986’s Blue Velvet, and has been styled to capture the essence of a cult classic film and is set to debut at retail this August 2020.

Blue Velvet is one of only a select few entertainment collaborations created by Off White, an Italian luxury label founded by Virgil Abloh, who also serves as the Men’s Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton.  The items featured as part of Paris Fashion Week included Autumn Winter 2020 runway collection looks adorned in varying blue shades and silver embellishments.

More specifically, the line featured a midnight blue, off-the shoulder gown with silver chainmail belt complemented by scalloped, blue velvet heels, a silver embellished blazer and cerulean blue, leather trousers, and a silver sequin, asymmetrical gown paired with midnight blue velvet scalloped heels to evoke the essence of silver screen glamour.

Directed by David Lynch, Blue Velvet is widely considered a cult classic. It stars Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, and Laura Dern, and is named after Bobby Vinton’s 1963 song.

Robert Marick, executive vice president, global consumer products and experiences, at MGM said: “Off White is one of the most influential fashion labels on the market right now and is universally recognised for its unexpected and fresh designs.

“We knew they would have an artful take on Blue Velvet and are thrilled with the line they’ve created, which really captures this amazing film in an authentic and unique way.”

The collaboration with Off White is part of MGM’s growing licensing program to leverage its library of more than 4,000 films, along with its iconic trademark lion logo, to create meaningful programmes around trending genres including horror and Sci-Fi, anniversaries such as the 45th anniversary of Rocky, and more.

Fuzzballs is primed for success as Scribbler expands its licensed card range

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The popular character brand Fuzzballs has found success with the stationery and greetings retailer, Scribbler, who has just detailed its plans to expand its range of Fuzzball licensed cards.

The Fuzzballs greetings range now features over 12 different birthday, novelty, and holiday cards in store, as well as over 100 cards online that span a rang of holidays and occasions. Fuzzballs also boasts a line of 25 cards that can be personalised with photos and messages.

Created in 2013, Fuzzballs sprang into life as a popular web comic. The property now boasts over 300 different licensed products available worldwide, including shirts, stationery, books and homewares. Fuzzballs has built up a global audience of fans with its more than 70 million iMessage and Instagram stickers.

The property’s licensing programme is currently managed by Rocket Licensing.

Its expansion within Scribbler reflects the growing popularity and recognition of the Fuzzballs brand at retail. Its card range aims to tap in to the ‘cute humour’ that has made the brand such a digital sensation.

“It is so exciting to see how positive customers have been at Scribbler to our initial range of Fuzzballs cards and clearly wanted even more,” said Marc Sach, creator of Fuzzballs.

“To so quickly have Scribbler ask us for an even larger range of cards just shows the mainstream market clearly wants more Fuzzballs in their lives and we are thrilled to see Fuzzballs take on an even large presence both in store and online at Scribbler.”

Toybox Labs signs deal with Beano Studios for 3D printed toys

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The kids 3D printing platform, Toybox Labs, has licensed a cast of Beano Studios’ characters in a groundbreaking new deal that brings the first premium toys to the Toybox platform.

The agreement means that kids and fans will now be able to download and print their favourite Beano characters from the global TV hit Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!, currently streaming on Netflix in the US. Each toy will have a small purchase price from $2.00 to $5.00.

Following its Netflix streaming deal, Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed! now reaches over 200 million people around the globe, and is based on the characters from the world’s longest-running weekly comic, Beano. Both Dennis and Gnasher will be among the Beano characters made available for kids to 3D print at home.

“This is an exciting development for us here at Toybox. Kids are printing a toy every ten seconds from the 2,000 we already provide, but now with this Beano Studios agreement they will be able to print some of their most beloved comic characters.” said Ben Baltes CEO of Toybox Labs Inc.

Emma Scott, CEO of Beano Studios, added: “At Beano Studios we are always looking at new avenues to get our characters into the hands of our fans. We love the idea that kids of all ages will be able to embrace their creativity and 3D print our famous Beano characters at home.”

WildBrain CPLG grows Greece office with Alice Marinou and Despina Chrisidou

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The entertainment, sport and brand licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG is growing its Greece office with the appointment of licensing industry experts Alice Marinou and Despina Chrisidou, joining as commercial director and senior retail and sales manager, respectively.

Marinou (pictured left) joins WildBrain CPLG following an 18-year tenure at The Walt Disney Company where she most recently held the position of senior licensing and retail manager for fashion for 11 years. In her new role at WildBrain CPLG, Marinou will be responsible for driving the company’s activity and strategy in the region.

She will report into Maria Gurrieri, managing director at WildBrain CPLG Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

Meanwhile, Chrisidou’s (pictured right) previous experience includes a tenure at Mattel Consumer Products as country manager for Greece where she was responsible for driving the company’s licensing efforts in the region. At WildBrain CPLG, Chrisidou will report into Alice Marinou and focus on hardlines, publishing, and food and beverage.

Maria Gurrieri said: “Alice and Despina bring an outstanding level of expertise, knowledge and passion for growing franchises and we are very excited to welcome them to the WildBrain CPLG Greece team.

“We have a diverse and colourful portfolio in the Greek market, including brands such as PAW Patrol, Peanuts and Emoji to name just a few, and I look forward to working closely with Alice and Despina as we propel the success of all our brands even further.”

On top of this, WildBrain CPLG is boosting its wider international team with new hires across its territory offices, including: Urszula Anglik as retail and sales manager for Central and Eastern Europe, who joins from FOX Networks Group, Abdel Yakoub as sales manager for Benelux, who joins from Libbey Inc, and Ross Melland as product development coordinator for Benelux, who has spent the last decade as an Art Director in advertising.

Completing the new hires is Nayade Martin Perez who joins as retail licensing manager for Spain from fashion licensee Padma Textiles, and Artem Basharin as licensing manager for WildBrain CPLG Pullman in Russia, who previously worked in fashion retail.

Fireman Sam and Despicable Me join the Tonies licensed audio tales portfolio

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Fireman Sam and Despicable Me are the latest properties to join the popular children’s audio system, Tonies, joining a growing roster of licensed stories that includes The Lion King and The Gruffalo.

Based on the BBC children’s TV series, the Fireman Sam Tonie runs for 60 minutes and tells the tale of its hero Sam saving the day in the fictional Welsh town of Pontypandy. The Despicable Me: The Junior Novel, meanwhile, runs for 116 minutes and follows the tale of Gru and his minions.

In addition to the two licensed stories, a third Tonie completes the newest wave, taking the form of the Easter Bunny Creative Tonie, depicting a bunny holding a basket of Easter eggs and allowing users to record their own audio via the Tonie app.

Tonies co-founder, Marcus Stahl, said: “We are delighted to introduce two such well known and loved titles to our collection. Minions have become iconic animated figures in their own right, and it is fantastic to be able to add the timeless character Fireman Sam to the collection.

“We look forward to seeing the response from new and existing customers and have more exciting launches planned in the coming months.”

Launched in the UK in 2018 by Patric Faßbender and his friend and co-founder Marcus Stahl, the Toniebox is an intuitive speaker system that is revolutionising story time for children thanks to its screen-free engagement.

Billed as an ‘easy, fun and interactive way for three to eight year olds to play their favourite stories and songs’ Tonies encourages kids to place a Tonie figure on top of the box and the content from the audio will begin to play.

Over 10.5 million Tonies and 1,000,000 Tonieboxes have been sold across Europe since the launch and 2020 started with the exciting announcement of the brands’ expansion to the USA – expected towards the end of this year.

Famous kitchen brand Ginsu cooks up licensing deal with Brand Partners Group

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JRL Group has secured a licensing partnership with Brand Partners Group to develop a line of kitchen gadgets under the globally recognised, professional cooking name Ginsu brand.

Under the new deal, Brand Partners will design products around the Ginsu Kiso line’s core brand focus of ‘the uncomplicated kitchen,’ with ranges designed to support all home cooks’ efforts in the kitchen, as well as the desire to own easy to use, yet high-value kitchen tools.

“We are very excited about this brand extension. Brand Partners is a well-respected company delivering unique, high-quality, well-designed products,” said Andrew Lieb, president of JRL Group, the exclusive licensing agency for the Ginsu brand.

“This is truly an ideal partnership for the iconic Ginsu brand.”

Ginsu knife sets have been a mainstay in the cutlery industry since its launch in 1978. Ginsu transitioned to a household name when it became one of the very first brands to market directly to consumers. Ginsu remains one of the most well-known cutlery brands on the market today, with multiple lines of knives distributed through numerous online and retail channels.

“This is a great opportunity for us to add kitchen gadgets to our existing product  lines of kitchen knives and kitchen electrics,” said Jeremy Cantor, business unit manager.

“Of course, this is only the beginning. There are numerous natural brand extensions for Ginsu and we look forward to expanding into kitchen electrics and accessories, publishing, home accessories, food and more,” added Randal Moss, marketing director.

Hasbro, Netflix and Rooster Teeth drop first trailer for Transformers: War of Cybertron Trilogy

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Netflix, Hasbro, and Rooster Tooth have formed a tri-force of entertainment powerhouses for the release of Chapter One of the hotly anticipated Transformers: War of Cybertron Trilogy.

The new series will premiere on Netflix later this year as it raises the stakes in the Autobot and Decepticon war. Chapter One will launch with six new 22-minute episodes, complete with a new animation look and style.

Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy: Siege begins in the final hours of the civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons that has torn apart their home planet of Cybertron. Optimus Prime and Megatron both want to save their world and unify their people, but on their own terms.

Rooster Teeth is producing the original series for Netflix, and Polygon Pictures is serving as the animation studio. Transformers veteran F.J. DeSanto is serving as show runner on the series with several contributing writers, including George Krstic, Gavin Hignight, and Brandon Easton.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Rooster Teeth, Netflix and Hasbro to bring this fan-oriented more than meets the eye story to life,” said Shuzo John Shiota, Polygon Pictures Inc. president and CEO.

“The Transformers universe has so many rich characters and engaging stories. Getting the opportunity to be part of the team bringing the robots in disguise to life in this new trilogy is unbelievable.”

Netflix, Hasbro, and Rooster Teeth, have today released the first teaser trailer for Chapter One.

“The Transformers brand is a global phenomenon with toys, consumer products, films, television shows, and literature, resonating with millions of passionate fans around the world,” said Tom Warner, senior vice president for the Transformers franchise for Hasbro.

“This brand new Netflix series will add to the incredible slate of Transformers offerings with a truly unique story that will delight both existing fans and those being introduced to the wonder of robots in disguise.”

The series voice talent cast includes Jake Foushee as Optimus Prime, Jason Marnocha as Megatron, and Joe Zieja as Bumblebee, alongside an extensive cast of further characters, deepening the Transformers lore.

“Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy marks the inaugural production for our Rooster Teeth Studios division and we’re proud to be partnering with and entrusted by Hasbro and Netflix,” said Matt Hullum, Rooster Teeth co-founder and chief content officer.

“As fans of these characters, it’s been a joy bringing our storytelling and animation expertise to this project. This teaser trailer is just a taste of what’s to come in this series, and we can’t wait to see what the fans think, especially our Rooster Teeth community.”

More details regarding Chapter Two, Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy” Earthrise and Chapter Three will drop in the coming months.

Middle Eastern restaurant The Halal Guys starts licensing journey with CAA-GBG

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The Halal Guys, the Middle Eastern restaurant made famous across the US, has struck up a long-term partnership with CAA-GBG to embark on a licensing journey into specialty grocery stores through new food and packaged goods products.

The Halal Guys has been credited with pioneering American halal food across the region. The partnership with the brand management team will now take the brand – and its tastes and experiences – from its food carts and restaurants and into the licensing world.

“The Halal Guys has built a worldwide following and grown from a single location into a global brand with nearly one hundred restaurants and millions of fans,” said Noah Gelbart, chief revenue officer of CAA-GBG. “We very much look forward to partnering with the brand to extend its reach to new consumers and strengthen its brand equity through strategic licensing and product extension focused on the specialty food and grocery space.”

Founded as a food cart on the corner of 53rd Street and 6th Avenue in New York City in 1990, The Halal Guys has grown to 94 locations worldwide, with hundreds more in development under its partnership with franchise developer Fransmart.

The brand focuses on traditional halal food and offers platters, sandwiches, hummus, baba ganouj, falafel and baklava.

“Offering our fans around the world the chance to buy our products at their local grocery store is a major step in our strategic global growth plan,” said Ahmed Abouelenein, CEO of The Halal Guys. “We chose to partner with CAA-GBG because it is well known worldwide for its ability to help brands successfully expand into new segments, categories and markets.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with the company as we take this next step in our brand’s growth and international expansion.”

Mad Beauty lands exclusive Superdrug deal for its Disney’s Mulan beauty and lifestyle range

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The health and beauty specialist, Mad Beauty is readying itself for the cinematic debut of Disney’s live action remake of Mulan with the launch of a new range of Mulan licensed beauty, bath and lifestyle products exclusively with Superdrug.

Ahead of the film’s March 27th UK release date, Mad Beauty has developed an extensive range, spanning pampering face masks, cherry-blossom make-up brushes, hair clips, bath fizzers and more.

The Disney Mulan range launched exclusively at Superdrug stores and online on Wednesday, February 26th.

The Disney Mulan Face Mask, Mulan Hair Clip Set, and Chinese cherry blossom Disney Mulan Bath Fizzers are joined by the Mulan Hairbrush set, and make-up brush set. The range also includes a Disney Mulan Lip Balm, Disney Mulan Bath Tea, Disney Mulan Bath and Body Set, and Disney Mulan Eyeshadow Palette.

Mad Beauty has had an ongoing partnership with Superdrug for the past three Christmas seasons. The new Disney licensed Mulan deal will see Mad Beauty extend its range into twice the number of Superdrug stores from this spring.

Trevor Cash, managing director at Mad Beauty, said: “We are very excited about this exclusive Mulan collection. Superdrug has been a valued partner of Mad Beauty’s for the last three Christmas seasons, so to have the opportunity to launch a full range on a FSU in twice as many stores as normal in spring is a fantastic bonus.

“We are very proud of the beautiful collection developed together to coincide with the launch of Mulan movie launch and would like to thank Superdrug and Disney for their support.” 

Mattel teams with Scopely to launch Scrabble Go mobile game

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Mattel has teamed with the mobile games company Scopely to launch the new mobile word game, Scrabble Go to the global stage, allowing players from across the world to engage in the classic Scrabble experience.

Billed as a highly social game, Scrabble Go allows players to invite and connect with friends and family via Facebook, WhatsApp, and contacts, as well as play with others around the world in a series of tournament-style matches.

The mobile game aims to bring the authentic Scrabble experience in line with new digital modes and features that include Classic, Modern, Arena, and Duels gameplay.

Classic is a head to head game that uses the official game board rules, and dictionaries, while Modern offers a fresh take on the classic experience with boosts and helpful tools to learn and improve while playing. The Arena mode is a collection of daily and weekly tournaments that include Word Drop – an anagram style game, Tumbler, and Rush. Finally, Duels is a mode in which players face-off on a smaller board, completing a real-time match in under five minutes.

“Scrabble fans around the world feel a deep connection to the brand for its long-standing tradition of competition,” said Victor Díaz-Roig, general manager and vice president, product at Scopely. “We’re so proud to introduce a reimagined take on the Scrabble experience with Scrabble Go.

“Our team has created an extremely vibrant, social, personalised, competitive, triple-A experience for a brand that transcends generations. We also worked with super fans and professional players to make this the most dynamic game experience possible. We are thrilled to share the all-new Scrabble Go with the world.”

Scrabble Go is published by Scopely and co-developed in partnership with PierPlay game studio. The game is the latest in Scopely’s diverse slate of mobile games, including Marvel Strike Force, Star Trek Fleet Command and YAHTZEE With Buddies, among others.