Cartoons are not just for children. Just ask Shirt King Phade or Demna.
Since the 1970s, we’ve seen streetwear designers and luxury fashion cherry-pick some of the defining figures of our childhoods and flesh them out in exciting new ways. Give Snoopy a dookie gold chain. Throw Daffy Duck on an Italian wool sweater and turn him into a luxury status symbol. Put Homer Simpson on the Balenciaga runway. Don’t even get us started on all the times Disney has said it over the years.
Recently, we saw Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack drop a licensed collection of SpongeBob merchandise. With that in mind, we wanted to explore some notable moments throughout history where fashion went down. And no, we don’t mean the mass-produced T-shirts and trinkets you see everywhere you look today. We are talking about good things. Here it is A Look Back at the Fascination of Fashion in Cartoons.
One of the earliest, and most misleading, trends in cartoons defined by fashion came in the 1970s. Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s Seditionaries released illegal graphic T-shirts featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse having sex and drug use. Although the youngsters show actions that deviate far from what we would expect to see from Disney mascots, their ties to the British punk scene and late legends Westwood and McLaren have made them a sensation among collectors.
What started in a booth at the Colosseum Mall in Queens became a worldwide phenomenon, thanks to hip-hop. Some of the biggest acts of the 1980s, such as LL Cool J and Run DMC, introduced the Shirt Kings (Edwin “Phade” Sacasa, Rafael “Kasheme” Avery, and Clyde “Nike” Harewood) and their classic soul pieces to the masses. The artwork brought pop culture icons like Snoopy and Bugs Bunny to the streets by wearing them with dookie gold chains, putting 40s on their hands, or parking them next to a clean Cadillac. The work of The Shirt Kings went on to define that era of street fashion. It’s so revered that brands from Supreme to Stussy have even worked on official projects with it in the 21st century.
In the 1990s, there were few pop culture events that were widely available The Simpsons. No one was loved like the son of the family, Bart. He wasn’t just promoting Butterfinger BBs in the 1990s. Bart also became a widely used character in bootleg T-shirts to highlight the ’90s zeitgeist, from political battles to your favorite sports teams. Arguably the most popular versions featured Black Bart, who was used to celebrate various aspects of Black culture from Michael Jordan running with the Chicago Bulls to Nelson Mandela.
Remember when Bunny from Taz and Bugs dressed up as Kriss Kross? You can’t escape these pictures in the 1990s. Even bootlegs started appearing with Cross Colors clothing. To this day, you’ll still see tees from the 90s sprinkled all over vintage stores.
With a lot of help from its unofficial ambassador Jay-Z, Iceberg’s expensive knit sweaters became a status symbol in urban fashion throughout the 1990s. The charming pieces featured iconic characters from Popeye to Mickey Mouse. The iceberg faded at the end of the crisis, but thanks to the old community, some of the designs are still loved today.
There are many examples of products featuring Disney and Warner Bros. characters in pieces, but how many times have you seen Speed Race cooperate? Ecko paid homage to the classic ’60s movie with a full collection. Images from the eventful series found their way onto T-shirts, buttons, and emblazoned on khakis.
In an effort to build on it, FUBU launched its Platinum sub-label in 2000. Although the line was not as celebrated as its predecessor, it became popular for a series of items written by friendly outgoing staff. Fat Albert. In December 2025, FUBU announced that it will bring back its Platinum line. Now you don’t have to reach for your old Mushmouth jeans.
Since his debut in 1999, Baby Milo has become the defining symbol of Bape. Funny cartoon monkeys and hoodies put the monkey mascot next to SpongeBob, The Simpsons, Hello Kitty, Dragonball Z, and many other cartoons.
Launched in 2002 as an offshoot of Southpole, Lot 29 was known for presenting all its pieces with cartoon characters, be it Daffy Duck airbrushed on baggy jeans or Yosemite Sam on the back of a track jacket. Young Pusha T and Clipse’s Malice even modeled these types of campaigns at the time.
Founded in 2010, Jordan Bentley’s Hypland has been connecting the world of anime and streetwear like no other. If you can think of it, you’ve probably released a collection for it. Leaving Digimon to Yu-Gi-Oh!, Hypland has something for every anime fan.
Jeremy Scott has never shied away from bold, bold designs. So, we would have known that it was only a matter of time before she started designing royal cartoons on her clothes. He did it in 2014 when Spongebob’s face collided with coats and bags hitting the road. He did it again a year later when he walked the entire collection down the runway with hip-hop remixes of Looney Tunes with gold chain necklaces and flat top hairdos, a big nod to The Shirt Kings who introduced the idea decades before.
Kith is used to releasing capsules tied to various popular cartoons, from the original Disney series Toy Story to The Simpsons. Items range from straightforward logos to thoughtful cut-outs and stitching. When it comes to modern streetwear, there is no brand that has released products of this type to such a high standard. The only thing you have to wonder about is who Kith hasn’t collaborated with.
When The Simpsons Launched in 1989, did you ever think you’d see Marge walking the runway for Balenciaga? Neither did we. In 2021, that’s exactly what happened. Demna’s Balenciaga premiered a short film during Paris Fashion Week showcasing Springfield’s most iconic models of its latest collection. A short cut has been produced The Simpsons fashion icons like Anna Wintour and Kim Kardashian. A capsule collection featuring the Simpsons family accompanied the show.
There’s no genre that Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack can’t touch. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see the latest collection from the script. Additionally, Cactus Jack dropped a line featuring “Gangster SpongeBob” airbrush art that has become a popular internet meme since the early 2000s. When it was released, many immediately pointed out its similarities to some of the aforementioned devices from the past. It’s hard not to. But we have to admit, we didn’t expect this trend to return here.
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