When you think of Loungefly, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the brand’s mini backpacks — cute, compact carryalls in a mind-boggling array of fandom-themed designs. When Creative Vice President Liz DeSilva joined Funko in 2019, her goal was to push the limits of that perception.
“When I joined Loungefly, it was about a year after Funko had acquired the brand,” DeSilva said in a phone interview.
“I was really brought in to kind of take hold of the brand and help them expand. I think, at the time, we were kind of that mini backpack that people would say, ‘Oh, look, those are those mini backpacks we saw at Disneyland.’”
The brand isn’t just about one product anymore, DeSilva said. “Quite a bit has changed for the positive.”
Loungefly is now getting more “recognition in the pin world” and the brand has expanded into apparel and other accessories. The results of this expansion can be seen in the brand’s rabid collector fanbase, known to snap up new releases in minutes.
“Our goal is to really create a lifestyle brand out of Loungefly,” she said. “In the last three years, we’ve really taken those steps to go beyond just mini backpacks.”
DeSilva’s role at Loungefly is to oversee the creative process and development of new accessories. She describes the job as leading “an absolute best-in-class team of creatives, to concept, and to make sure we’re covering all the right trends and characters.”
She and her partner, VP of Merchandising & Business Development Derrick Baca, work closely with retail and licensing partners for many franchises and properties, including Disney, Marvel, and Sanrio.
Loungefly’s pandemic challenge
DeSilva joined the Loungefly family at a challenging time. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and changed almost every aspect of global life, including fashion.
At one point during the pandemic, Loungefly’s creative team was down to as few as five people. They’re now back up to 20, “working with artists all over the country,” and have managed to continue growing the brand during uncertain times.
“We had more of a captive audience with people at home,” DeSilva said. “Pre-pandemic we had begun to invest in our social media,” a move which paid off during the crisis.
Aside from getting people “invested” in their social channels during the pandemic, Loungefly managed to keep the supply chain of products coming. DeSilva said knowing a fun package was coming in the mail helped some people cope during lockdown.
“It gave something to look forward to,” she said. “Getting something in the mail was like the highlight when you were stuck at home.”
New Loungefly brands launched
The pandemic’s lifestyle-changing effects also led to the creation of the casual Loungefly Apparel line in 2021. DeSilva had already spearheaded the launch of the high-end Stitch Shoppe apparel line in 2020.
“We launched that right, smack in the middle of the pandemic, which was not ideal,” she said, especially with many theme parks being closed.
“We had always planned on launching a more casual line but because of the pandemic, there was a definite shift in trends. It changed fashion and that continues to this day.”
DeSilva said a huge expansion of the Loungefly Apparel line is planned for spring 2022. As for Stitch Shoppe, DeSilva is happy theme parks are open again and that the popular Dapper Day events at Disney parks are back on. The Anaheim event is slated for Nov. 13 and 14 at the Disneyland Hotel.
“This will be the first Dapper Day since we launched,” said DeSilva, who will be at the event. “I’m really excited to see people out in the wild dressed up again. We do see (Stitch Shoppe clothes) at Disneyland quite often, which is really great to see.”
How Stitch Shoppe started
The Stitch Shoppe brand was originally going to debut with a fashion show in April 2020 during Dapper Day. Instead, it was launched virtually with the help of influencers who showed off the vintage-style, pop culture-themed clothes from their own homes.
“We did the best that we could, given the circumstances,” DeSilva said.
She and Baca created Stitch Shoppe to fill a “kind of white space for a better quality, little bit fancier, higher price point fan apparel.” After working in the world of “fast fashion,” they wanted to offer “some higher quality pieces.”
Another goal of the brand is to promote body positivity by offering sizes from XS to 4XL and focusing on comfort and fit. “I just felt like there wasn’t enough in the market to offer people and definitely not in plus sizes,” DeSilva said. “I also wanted to make sure the clothes were comfortable for all sizes.”
According to DeSilva, the Stitch Shoppe line “puts a huge emphasis on fabrication” and undergoes “extensive fit sessions.” The clothes are designed to have “some stretch and give in them.”
“I always like to say you can wear it out to the parks, have all the snacks, and it’s still going to be comfortable,” she said. “We want it to be something you feel really good in.”
Loungefly’s latest designs
Stitch Shoppe recently unveiled a vintage Minnie Mouse ornament bag that coordinates with a larger apparel collection inspired by Disney Christmas ornaments.
Recently, the brand also offered a sneak peek at a Winnie the Pooh balloon bag with a full collection behind it. A first look at the collection may show up around Dapper Day, DeSilva said.
Other recent Loungefly launches of interest include “spooky season collaborations” and a collection featuring Disney Villains Books designs, an update to a popular Disney princess-themed collection.
Another recent favorite of DeSilva’s is a Vampire Stitch design featuring the mischievous alien wearing a cape that opens and closes.
DeSilva noted that Loungefly’s recently released figural Mickey Pumpkin crossbody bag received a “phenomenal” response. It also paired perfectly with a candy corn-checkered Stitch Shoppe dress DeSilva said she’s been wearing all season.
“I love designing mini backpacks, but I definitely love a good crossbody to wear,” she said. “I’m really excited to offer more of that,”
Loungefly’s secret formula
As someone who currently owns seven Loungefly bags and knows deep down that I will not stop buying them, I was curious to get DeSilva’s take on why the brand’s geeky accessories are so addictive.
“It’s a really simple formula,” she said.
“The creative team, the product development team, myself, my partner, our apparel team, everyone, they are actual fans. They’re fans of a lot of different things,” including Pokemon, Sanrio, and Disney, to name a few.
DeSilva describes herself as a Disney fan and collector. While serving as Vice President of Creative at Hybrid Apparel, she worked with Disney to completely refresh their princess products for adults.
“When I’m working on a Cinderella collection — I grew up with Cinderella, she’s my favorite princess — I dig into the scenes, the ones that are the most memorable, that I remember,” she said.
Essentially, the key to Loungefly’s success is a creative process that taps into customer’s nostalgic memories.
“We just try to pinpoint those moments that maybe you wouldn’t necessarily think, oh, make a bag of this, … but it tugs at your heart,” DeSilva said.
“We don’t just do the obvious. … We dig into the stories, we dig into the rides at Disneyland, we dig into the characters.”
The process includes brainstorming ideas, monitoring demand on social media, considering fan feedback, and watching a lot of movies. The team is still working remotely, but when they are in the office, they have access to Disney Plus, Netflix, and other media.
DeSilva said they spend time watching clips over and over and taking screen shots for inspiration. They’re always looking for that “extra wow moment, so you say, ‘I’ve gotta have this bag.’ We work outside of studio style guides. We create a lot of our art in-house, finding the best poses, the best scenes, and translating them to the best materials, the best embellishments to tell the story.”
The future of Loungefly
As for the future of Loungefly, “we have so much coming in 2022 that we’ve already designed,” DeSilva said. The catalogue for November has already been released, but there will be more Stitch Shoppe offerings later this year.
“There are 100% web exclusives coming to Loungefly.com,” DeSilva teased, urging fans to keep an eye on the brand’s social media channels.
“There are a handful of exclusives coming that no one has seen yet, some in licenses that we have not designed into yet.”
Photos courtesy of Loungefly.
More Loungefly posts from Temple of Geek:
Photos from this year’s Loungefly Halloween Collection
Loungefly shares new Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella designs
