Disaster Designs’ Woodland Collection builds on success of Moomin fashion bags

Caroline Mickler Limited, Licensing Agent for the Moomins, the friendly trolls loved for decades in print and film and now the focus of a popular and successful licensing programme, has announced another new Moomin range, this time in the area of women’s fashion and lifestyle products. Disaster Designs, which specialises in wholesaling funky gifts, fashion accessories, and homewares, has developed the Woodland Collection, a ten-piece Moomin-branded lifestyle collection for young women that attracted enormous interest on its launch at Spring Fair. It includes fashion accessories, bags, a flask, a washbag, a makeup bag and an overnight bag. All the items in this stylish collection have bright and appealing illustrations featuring favourite Moomin characters against charming and colourful backgrounds. The flask is already available in Topshop. The rest of the collection will be available from late May in independent fashion, lifestyle and giftware outlets around the UK including Aspire Style, Temptation Gifts, Pussy Home Boutique, The Home in Saltaire, Baltic Gallery and Bonkers in St Andrews among others.

Disaster is already an established success story with the Moomin licensing campaign, winning the best branded/character section in the 2010 GA Gift of the Year Awards for its Moomin fashion bags. The Woodland Collection builds on the popularity of this range, meeting the ever-growing retail and consumer demand for greater diversity of Moomin product.

The Moomins have been stars of books, cartoon strips, stage and screen for over half a century. Caroline Mickler Ltd’s strategy for the Moomin brand has brought a wide range of licensed product, including cards, books, apparel, accessories, tableware and the award-winning range of Disaster fashion bags, to a vast consumer audience but in particular two target markets for whom the lovable, carefree trolls have a massive and enduring appeal: children and young adult women.

Neil Gauckwin Sales Manager, Disaster Designs, says: “After the success of the Moomin fashion bags line we were keen to extend our involvement with this original and delightful brand. It lends itself perfectly to young women’s lifestyle products: it looks fabulous on quality gifts and accessories while remaining fun, appealing and totally unique.”

Caroline Mickler adds: “Disaster Designs has shown how well it can encapsulate the unique appeal of the Moomin brand and combine it with high quality design. The Woodland Collection is stylish and fun — perfect for the young women’s market that is such a strong focus for the Moomin brand.”