Published 13 February 2026
From movies to food, the consumer appetite for merch is more wide-ranging and insatiable than ever. But as it evolves from a playful novelty to a powerful marketing tool and street cred barometer, striking the right balance between fandom-fueled must-have and gimmicky wearable advertisement is tricky. We explore the most exciting commercial approaches fashion brands should be taking in 2026 and beyond.
Macro Drivers of Change
Regional Focus
Pillars of Innovation
Trend Duration
Cultural Cachet & Wearable Endorsements
At its core, merch allows consumers to shape their identity through wearable proclamations of their taste and values. From artistic allegiances and lifestyle and hospitality pivots to playful protest, brands are finding clever and creative ways for fans to buy into their interests and sartorially promote their cultural positions.
- Lifestyle Markers: Myriad lifestyle brands across hospitality and leisure are primed for luxe-leaning merch collabs and capsules. London-based restaurant group Dishoom launched its own range of tees, hats and tote bags, marking a continued trend for sartorial alignment via merch from culturally aspirational eateries and grocery stores. LA-based Erewhon’s Lululemon capsule also appeals directly to a very specific brand of wellness-conscious cool girl. Elsewhere, hotels remain a lucrative area of interest, with lifestyle label Sporty & Rich (LA /Paris) continuing its trend for escapist collaborations with a sleek Mandarin Oriental loungewear capsule, while ongoing Frame x Ritz Paris and Staud x St. Regis partnerships had new drops, while Dubai hotel group Jumeirah worked with designer Faiza Bouguessa.
Meanwhile, luxury board games – like Miu Miu x Uno and Bottega Veneta x Jenga – serve as branded entry-level products for aspirational lifestyle consumers looking to buy into the hyper-curated worlds of these high-end labels, while also testing the limits of what we consider traditional merch to be.
- Artistic Alignments: A burgeoning merch trend homes in on the creator at the centre of culturally relevant art, allowing the wearer to align themselves not with one specific piece of media, but rather with the aesthetics and associations of the artist. See UK brand Last Exit to Nowhere, which stocks tees declaring themselves directed by everyone from David Fincher to John Carpenter, while US production company Neon takes a similar approach to some of its auteur-driven offerings. Even actress Elle Fanning arrived at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in a custom t-shirt by Dylan’s T-Shirt Club (US) celebrating her Sentimental Value director Joachim Trier. Plus, merch at the Broadway and West End stage play Oh, Mary! Allows fans to declare their allegiance to playwright Cole Escola without referring to the show itself.
- Soft Protest: Protest and political alignment remain a focus in certain merch outputs, but in an increasingly positive way. Swedish food company Oatly’s workwear collaboration with Los Angeles label Kids of Immigrants celebrates community and human connection, while NYC designer Willy Chavarria follows up his Tinder and Human Rights Campaign collaboration with a The Ordinary collab in support of LGBTQ+ non-profit Rainbow Railroad. Other recent merch partnerships, like Wikipedia x Armedangels and Online Ceramics x Penguin Random House (read The Brief) have taken aim at media literacy and misinformation.
Betting Big on World Building & Escapism
Escapism and nostalgia remain key priorities in merch offerings, as a whimsical desire to live in on-screen worlds continues to inspire method dressing-style collections that blur the line between costume and everyday cosplay. Everything from mega franchises and anime hits to gothic literature are up for interpretation, and DIY options fill availability gaps.
- Franchise Takeover: The fifth season of Netflix hit Stranger Things – and the expansive resulting merch output - proved the powerful ongoing appeal of blockbuster franchises. Key collaborations mimicked the on-screen 80s costuming for a junior audience, with Nike, Pull & Bear, Primark and Wrangler being only a handful of brands successfully bringing the show to life.
2026 is set to be a big year for event movies, with the Dune, Superman, Narnia, Spider-Man and The Hunger Games franchises getting new installments, sequels to The Devil Wears Prada and Practical Magic, and anticipated releases like Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey sure to stir up excitement. Pay attention to projects in production that are already causing conversations – think the 2028 Beatles movies or forthcoming Star Wars
- Romantic Fantasies: Netflix’s Bridgerton is leading romantic escapism narratives, and clever regency-inspired collaborations with Primark, Pandora and rental platform Nuuly to celebrate its fourth season further expand the immersive world of the show. Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights has similar whimsically romantic appeal. While not released as merch, Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s custom Cece Jewellery pieces capture the aesthetics and products that get this fanbase excited. A Lingua Franca collaboration depicts key quotes on cashmere cardis and crewnecks, while British lingerie label Lounge curated a seasonal edit inspired by the film. Yellowstone x Free People takes a more pastoral approach to fantastical escapism.
Gothic romance and horror also remain key here. US-based The Scream Lab and UK-based Fright Light Studio cater to this demographic’s desire for girly gothic pieces, while Netflix’s Frankenstein line featured Gen Z favourite baby tees and DIY-esque graphics. Plus, Nosferatu’s merch included (sold out) replicas of a locket and earrings worn on screen, echoing the elevated approach previously taken by films like Priscilla. The upcoming Werwulf from Nosferatu director Robert Eggers is sure to appeal to this audience.
- Left Field Sports Plays: Similar related offshoots see fan fervour spike for contemporary stories. See now sold out tie-ins for the HBO Max/Crave sports romance series Heated Rivalry, which replicated jerseys and other merch worn on-screen by the show’s fictional hockey sides. The lack of immediate availability has driven fans to seek out homemade Etsy versions in droves. Real life team the Ottawa Senators have gotten in on the action, selling jerseys bearing the characters names and numbers in their official team store that continue to sell out, with a portion of the proceeds going to Ottawa Pride Hockey.
Additionally, over 6,000 people signed a petition demanding a screen-worn fleece be made available for purchase, leading to DIY attempts followed by an official release in collaboration with loungewear label Province of Canada.
New York-set film Marty Supreme also launched a collection of hats in collaboration with all of the city’s major sports teams, while streetwear x sportswear crossovers, like Arsenal x A Cold Wall, remain popular approaches.
- The Anime Effect: As highlighted in last year’s report, there’s a wealth of opportunity in anime as dedicated fandoms continue to grow. This was further confirmed with the bombastic success of Netflix’s animated musical K-Pop Demon Hunters, which has already driven myriad cross-industry, demographic-spanning collabs and fan-fuelled method-dressing trends, and has a sequel in the works. Read Fandoms to Watch: The K-Pop Demon Hunters Squad for an in-depth look.
Other fashion-first team-ups to note include Tokyo’s Graniph’s series of capsules with manga and anime properties Death Note, Yu Yu Hakusho and Ultraman; Beams and Hugo’s Jujutsu Kaisen collections; and Vivienne Westwood x Nana. See the image gallery for inspiration.
From Memorabilia to Marketing Tool: The New Hype Playbook
Movie tie-ins and food-based partnerships are taking cues from streetwear’s exclusivity-driven rulebook to drum up excitement around new releases. Elsewhere, brands are reimagining how merch can still function as a special, sentimental keepsake in a market that offers consumers more choice and access than ever before.
- Film’s Streetwear Pivot: As merch is increasingly becoming a publicity tool for films as opposed to simply a souvenir, studios and brands alike are following streetwear’s exclusivity-driven lead when it comes to product drops. Indie distributor A24’s film Marty Supreme (led by Timothée Chalamet) partnered with LA label Nahmias on a windbreaker which quickly sold out, launching various bootleg copycats and causing hysteria at IRL popups.
It’s an approach that A24 are sticking with – Charli XCX’s meta mockumentary The Moment also received its own puffer jackets. Other key releases to note in this space include Sinners’ team-ups with Fear of God and StockX; Neon’s double headed hoodie for horror movie Together; UK streetwear brand SCRT’s collabs with films like Sentimental Value, Die My Love and Alpha; and Teyana Taylor’s One Battle After Another graphic tee.
- The Foodie Hypebeast: Fast food restaurants are following a similar playbook, with the gravy-themed Aries x KFC capsule being a key example of how food-based partnerships can inject themselves with buzzy, streetwear-adjacent cool. Dominos’ 1980s-inspired merch, which mimics retro delivery driver uniforms, also perfectly toes this line between niche novelty and exclusive must-have.
- Leveraging Sentimentality: Taking a different but equally scarcity-driven approach, brands are creating history-laden mementos in new and exciting ways. UK-based From the Silver Screen makes luxury movie-themed jewellery made from reclaimed silver that has been extracted from the film reels the movie was filmed on. Its recent collaborations with Focus Features have resulted in collections inspired by Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia and Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme. Similarly, US-based brand Scenery upcycles sets and costumes from Broadway musicals into accessories like bags and hair bows, allowing fans to own small pieces of the show’s legacy.
Cross-Cultural Pollination & Niche Collaboration
Across music, sport, film and beyond, a blend of new fandoms are emerging with a growing desire for quirky merch items that tap into multiple priorities at once – think band tees that double as football jerseys. Plus, food and alcohol brands go all in on novelty in an exciting shift.
- The Sports x Music Moment: The latest band tee isn’t a band tee at all, but rather a sports jersey. Dublin football team Bohemian FC followed up its Fontaines DC collaboration with a Kneecap team-up, while Brentford FC released a jersey with British band Hard-Fi to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its debut album. Official teams aside, sports aesthetics are generally big news for music merch. Recently Adidas tapped into Oasis fever, Admiral harvested nostalgia with a Spice Girls top and US kitmaker Icarus FC created merch jerseys for NYC band Geese. Canadian singer The Weekend’s ongoing partnership with Paris Saint-Germain is also relevant here.
- Tapping New Sports Fandoms: Beyond music tie-ins, shifting fandom dynamics and demographics are driving a wealth of opportunity in new merch categories, and that's especially clear in womenswear. See the dedicated jewellery line from England’s Lionesses or Kylie Jenner’s Knicks basketball-themed lingerie for cues on how sports can tap this growing and hugely lucrative market. Read Jewellery & Watches: Top Trends & Opportunities for more.
- Food & Beverage Get Kitschy: Streetwear strategies aside, humour-led novelty is the name of the game for fast food brands. Recent highlights include Burger King UK x Talulah Blue’s Life of a Showgirl-inspired bag, Graniph x McDonalds’ graphic tee collab, and the Greggs x Icon cushion capsule. See Fast Food Trends 26/27: Menus & Merch for further insights.
Alcohol is another area leaning heavily into quirk and kitsch. US canned cocktail brand Buzzballz auctioned a 9-carat engagement ring for charity ahead of Valentine’s Day, while Bacardí launched the dancefloor-ready Bacardígan.
The parameters for what can be considered merch now are so broad, and the consumer demand for branded and licensed products is arguably more expansive than ever. The opportunities are endless for brands willing to get creative and treat merch as an exciting sartorial extension of their respective fandoms and not a novel afterthought.
Whether it’s a costume piece that becomes a fan favourite must-have, or a promotional product that unexpectedly gains hype, brands need to be agile when something is gaining momentum. Especially if there’s an on-screen item likely to get duped, or a viral line destined to live on slogan tees, it’s a missed opportunity not to engage. Collaboration with DIY artists is also an important strategy for successful audience engagement.
Subcultures don’t exist in vacuums, so the key to truly successful merch strategies going forward will be finding sweet spots of overlap within your target demographics. As fandoms evolve, exciting new opportunities (like sporty jewellery for female spectators, for example) are increasingly popping up for brands who are paying attention.
As merch continues to become an everyday staple of the average wardrobe, many fans are actively seeking out pieces with that elusive, secretive quality that only makes sense to those in the know. Smart brands will embrace in-jokes and quirky, niche references to appeal to those looking to gatekeep their cultural obsessions from the masses.
