Strategy October 19, 2018
Branded Apparel Trends From *NSYNC’s New Capsule Merchandise Collection
It’s the second recent swag collection from the former boy band, which is cashing in on the 90s’ nostalgia trend. We tell you about it using ‘90s lingo.
“Backstreet’s Back…Alright!”
Oh wait. Sorry. Wrong ‘90s boy band. We’re actually talking about *NSYNC. They’re back, too, with their second capsule merchandise collection of 2018. Older Millennials sentimental for their first concert days and ‘90s nostalgia enthusiasts of a younger demographic are likely to dig it, just as they did another capsule collection Justin, Joey, JC, Lance and Chris put out earlier this year.
View this post on InstagramHere we go, one more time, three more days to get everything you need. Link in Bio.
The latest *NSYNC capsule collection, which is only available for about a week, features hoodies, men’s and women’s T-Shirts, wine glasses, coffee mugs, coasters, a beanie, “dad” caps, toddler apparel (those Millennials are parents now) and more. Even if you’re not an *NSYNC fan, promotional product distributors can use the collection to do a bit of trendspotting. Indeed, that’s what we did. Here are four trends we found.
BOMBER JACKETS ARE ‘DA BOMB
We’ve been waiting years to use ‘DA BOMB in a sentence and not seem hopelessly outdated. And now we can, as we are talking ‘90s retro goodness. More germane to the subject: This satin bomber jacket, sometimes called a baseball jacket too, is a look that’s trending hot at the moment. If you’re doing merch for clients in the music industry, or simply targeting Gen Z/young Millennial audiences, it’s an outerwear style to consider recommending to clients.
DENIM DAD CAPS ARE DOPE
Dope indeed! Aside from providing us with another opportunity to use vintage ‘90s terminology, these denim dad hats are spot on in their heralding of a couple trends. See, washed denim looks and curved bill/low crown hats were about as uncool as it could get for years – dubbed “dad” hats in a reference to the helplessly unhip folks who typically donned such headwear, often at ballgames and barbecues. But that dorkiness went full-circle. It became cool, in a kind of ironic way, to wear dad hats. The trend caught on so much that the caps are just straight cool now. A similar fashion lifecycle is happening with washed denim looks. So promo pros: Pitch such styles when your clients want to influence fashion-forward end-users.
COLOR BLOCK HOODIES ARE PHAT, YO’
We know more than a few people who rocked a big, bold, bright color block hoodie like this at a middle school dance back in ‘da day – and we’re not saying we’re not among them. Anyway, hoodies like this will go over well with music festival crowds here in 2018, too. For sure, clients that range from sororities to entities in the entertainment industry, including video game brands, Esports and streamers, could be down with this color block hooded sweatshirt.
BIG UPS FOR TIE-DYE T-SHIRTS
The website description says that tie-dye never goes out of style. We’re not so sure about that. But this much we know: Tie-dye never stays out of style. It’s back in a big way, as we’ve previously written about. This shirt further exemplifies the trend. “It might sound crazy but this pink and blue tie-dye design is the touch of ‘90s your wardrobe has been missing,” *NSYNC’s marketing copywriters tell us. Okay, right on then. Interestingly, though, the tee showcases a more subtle trend too – namely, a slight shift in taste back to 100% cotton tees. We’re not saying blends and synthetics are totally out. But we are saying there’s growing desire, in the promosphere and at retail, for soft 100% ringspun combed cotton tees like this one. BOO-YAH!