TOTAL Art Licensing
The world of art and design licensing is see- to embrace unique and innovative design
ing a pronounced shift in growth from tra- and discover new brands that organically
ditional categories like paper products and tap into popular culture. The company is
into more derivative areas such as fashion. eagerly anticipating the debut of its hot
new art/design brand, Corky Mansfield, at
Witness the collaboration between Kidro- Licensing 2007.
express your true feelings, whether you’re
bot and Barneys New York for exclusive,
“Looking for Mr. Tonight” or admonishing
limited edition apparel; Obey Clothing, Who is Corky Mansfield? It’s a question
people to “Spread Love, Not Hate.” The
the streetwear brand inspired by a graf- sure to be on the lips of consumers and re-
apparel line is being developed with a pleth-
fiti artist that has become a trendsetter’s tailers in the months to come. Art Impres-
ora of high-end treatments such as glitter
wardrobe staple; or Mitchell Bernal’s suc- sions discovered this creative marvel during
and foil, bleaching and dip-dyes, burnouts,
cessful Skelanimals program at Hot Topic.
stitching and embroidery. Back-and-front
The success of avant-garde art-influenced
printing on certain styles presents the op-
collections like Tokidoki and Paul Frank is
portunity to dispense even more Corky
inspiring new creative talents to enter the
humor per item, as in the tee featuring a
market. Art even took the stage at one of
pirate on the front and the words “You
the most mainstream cultural events of the
Found Me Booty” strategically printed on
year, when costumes and props designed by
the back hem.
renowned neo-pop artist Romero Britto
were featured at Super Bowl 41 in Miami,
If you’re looking to replenish your sense
Florida.
of humor, seek out the quirky sentiments
“dole-d” out by Corky’s friendly and ir-
Amid signs that the celebrity fashion market
reverent fruits in Daily Dose. The antics
is saturated, and with more retailers opting
of a counterculture blueberry, an uber-fit
to create private label brands for catego- the MAGIC apparel trade show in February,
orange, zesty musical lime and their juicy
ries that traditionally used licensed designs, where designer/illustrator Jason Tharp was
cohorts are 100% naturally hilarious. With
leading licensors such as Art Impressions exhibiting his creations at POOL, a special
designs ranging from the esoteric (an in-
have recognized growing opportunities section of the show devoted to showcas-
jured lemon exclaiming, “Easy Peezy, Lemon
in areas like apparel and fashion accesso- ing emerging talents as well as sought-after
Squeezy!”) to the so-corny-it’s hip (“Pit
ries, where there remains a strong desire established brands like Tokidoki.
Happens!”), Daily Dose’s colorful and fun
designs are bound to have tremendous ap-
Tharp is the unstoppable creative force
peel.
behind the Corky Mansfield studio, which
has translated its founder’s vision into a
number of sub-brands to serve various de-
mographics and distribution channels, from
contemporary to juniors, teens and tweens.
Tharp envisions a world in which people are
brought together in an atmosphere of unity,
openness, and freedom of expression—and
he’s not above using sharp-tongued humor
to get their attention.
Among Tharp’s witty creations are the
eponymous Be Corky! collection, which
features retro graphic designs that let you
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