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Disney, by Design
Brooks Barnes
The New York Times
November 6, 2008
THE most expensive piece of clothing sold by the Walt
Disney Company six years ago was a $75 sweatshirt
embossed with a mug shot of Mickey Mouse. By Magic
Kingdom decree, home furnishings were required to
exhibit at least one Disney character, leading to
children’s play rugs ($65, in Pluto) and nightlights
($9.95, in Winnie the Pooh).
Disney still peddles all those things. But now the
company also sells $3,900 designer wedding gowns — no
characters in sight — and women’s cashmere sweaters
“inspired by Tinker Bell.” Interior design offerings
include $2,800 leather club chairs and $6,000
chandeliers patterned after the Art Deco décor in Mr.
Disney’s former office. One of the company’s new
products: couture soap.
Welcome to Disney, the “lifestyle brand.”
Shoppers may be surprised to learn that these pricey and
Mickey-free products are from the same company that
foisted “Hannah Montana” on the world and turned singing
Chihuahuas into a cultural touchstone. While some of the
items have recognizable characters on them, others
contain only winks and nods to the company’s animated
movies and theme park rides. And sometimes the only hint
of Disney’s involvement is on the label.
Lindsay Bern, a makeup artist for Smashbox Cosmetics,
was so delighted with a lavender and silver tote bag
that she received as a gift from a friend that she
started using it immediately. Then, while on an
airplane, a flight attendant commented on her “Alice in
Wonderland” bag. “I thought she was crazy until I
started looking at it more closely, and, sure enough,
there was a subtle Alice hiding in the design,” Ms. Bern
said.
The Disney brand, of course, is one of the most powerful
in the world. It connotes quality and creativity, but
also carries a strong whiff of mass culture — which can
turn the noses of fashionistas skyward. It is difficult
for many upscale customers and boutiques to take Disney
seriously. Of her bag, Ms. Bern said, “I’ll admit it: I
liked it better when I didn’t know it was from Disney.”
But Disney has been working hard to improve its image.
Starting in 2002, the company tiptoed into high-end
retail, seeking out partnerships with designers like
Paul Smith, Vivienne Tam and Dolce & Gabbana, who
created a $1,400 sequined Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Andy
Mooney, chairman of Disney Consumer Products, thought
that a smattering of designer clothes featuring Disney
characters in fresh ways would gain the attention of
fashion-forward shoppers. The goal was to stretch the
brand a bit while adding buzz.
Now Mr. Mooney is going further, asking people to think
of Disney as a brand of luxury clothing, expensive home
furnishings and hip jewelry. Lest anyone be confused,
the company has created labels to differentiate the new
merchandise from what it sells at Disney Stores and
theme parks. The “upscale, high-glam” Disney Couture is
primarily for women, while guys have Bloc28, a name that
refers to Mickey Mouse’s debut in 1928. The labels,
featured in fashion magazines like Vogue and worn by
celebrities like Rihanna, are sold only in boutiques and
in department stores like Bloomingdale’s and Neiman
Marcus.
From a business perspective, the full-speed push into
“noncharacter products” like dining tables and executive
fountain pens is a crucial way for Disney to expand its
consumer products unit, which is better known for
pumping out Power Rangers pajamas and Daisy Duck key
chains. Disney says that sales of its home and lifestyle
products will total about $85 million in the next 12
months, making up one percent of the consumer unit’s
revenue. Within five years, the company projects the
category will deliver $500 million in sales a year.
It is an ambitious plan for a company whose idea of
fashion for decades was to attach plastic mouse ears to
a beanie. Analysts who follow Disney said the company’s
strategy is smart, though the recent downturn in
consumer spending may make it difficult to meet those
aggressive sales goals, and some consumers have noticed
a similarity between Disney Couture and Juicy Couture.
Over time, consumers from all quarters are likely to
grow familiar with the new designs. In one deal that has
yet to be announced, Wal-Mart has hired Disney to take
over its children’s bedding department this spring.
Disney will supply its normal range of “Cars”
pillowcases and “Cinderella” sheets, but it will also
create four lines of bedding that include no images of
Disney characters.
In September, Disney introduced a collection of patio
furniture in partnership with Agio. Starting in the
spring, consumers will be able to decorate their
backyards with outdoor dining sets from the Animal
Kingdom Collection. Or they can opt for a martini bar
and swivel bar stools from the Grand Floridian
Collection — a respite, perhaps, for parents after one
too many viewings of “Toy Story 2” on DVD.
Other new products this fall include $1,200 fountain
pens from Monteverde that come in three designs. In the
Sleeping Beauty Collection, for example, subtle silver
arches around the cap are modeled after the window
architecture on the Sleeping Beauty Castle at
Disneyland. The nib is 14-karat gold (of course).
Coming soon: Disney dresses from the Los Angeles
designer Sue Wong; they will play off the colors in
“Fantasia”
“This is more about feeling the Disney characters than
seeing their image,” said Kidada Jones, the former Tommy
Hilfiger model (and daughter of Quincy Jones), who
teamed with Disney to produce a line of jewelry and
accessories. One of Ms. Jones’s top sellers is a $143
bracelet made from braided turquoise leather and
marketed as an “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired design.
The gold-plated charms that dangle from it are
references to the story: a pocket watch, hearts, signs
that say “Eat Me” and “Drink Me.”
Donna Sheridan, vice president and general manager of
Disney Consumer Products, said the company wants people
to think of Disney as more of a J. Crew than a family
fun factory. “I want to have pieces that adults,
designers and tastemakers can all wear and put into
their homes.”
The sense that Disney’s new fashions could blend with a
woman’s everyday wardrobe is what sold Bloomingdale’s on
them.
“We were interested because none of these pieces look
like tourist items,” said Denise Ramirez, a divisional
merchandise manager at Bloomingdale’s in New York City.
“They are clothes you would wear, not something you pick
up at a theme park because it’s cute for the day.”
Paul Devine, an interior designer based in Pasadena,
Calif., said he was surprised by Disney’s furniture
line, which is produced with Drexel Heritage. The
collection started with 12 pieces in 2006 and quickly
expanded to 50 the following spring.
“I’m a stickler for quality, and I had reservations that
this would be up to my standards,” Mr. Devine said.
After much scrutiny, he decided to add a few Disney
furniture items to a home he was designing in Palm
Springs, Calif., and he has been a customer ever since.
“There’s even some sex appeal at work there,” he said.
As the company presses forward, it is encountering
competition from inside the movie capital. Warner
Brothers, also chasing the brand halo that can come from
partnerships with top-notch designers, just landed a
deal with Diane von Furstenberg. Warner, home to Looney
Tunes and DC Comics, teamed with Ms. von Furstenberg on
a series of $695 ready-to-wear dresses inspired by
Wonder Woman.
To attract artists and designers, Disney has played much
looser with its characters than ever, a move that has
been controversial within the company. A T-shirt sold at
Fred Segal Fun in Santa Monica, Calif., showed Mickey
Mouse looking like a pimp, with a gold-studded chain and
a fedora. An upcoming jewelry offering from Disney’s
fashion collection for young men is a ring that depicts
a rabid-looking Mickey Mouse with freakish long fangs.
Pam Lifford, executive vice president of Disney Consumer
Products, defended the provocative images. “We take it
to the edge but keep it controlled and maintained,” she
said. “Allowing designers and artists the freedom to
take our creative assets and explore, within reason, is
the only way we can attract the right talent.”
Designers say they have been impressed with the
willingness of the famously guarded company to take
chances. Charlotte Tarantola, a Los Angeles designer,
said she decided to do a limited collection based on
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in part because Disney
allowed her to explore “the darker, very adult side of
the fairy tale.”
As the proprietor of a small company, Ms. Tarantola was
eager to piggyback on the Disney name. “Anyone who is
alive today has been touched by Disney in some way. If
becoming partners with them can help my business, far
out.”
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