New line features designs by fashion students from UK university
PEANUTS x VAYYU CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH SUSTAINABLE APPAREL COLLECTION
WildBrain CPLG, one of the world’s leading entertainment, sport and brand licensing agencies, has secured a deal on behalf of Peanuts Worldwide with luxury eco-sustainable lifestyle brand Vayyu. The new line will be Vayyu’s first licensed apparel collection featuring Charles M. Schulz’s classic Peanuts characters launching today to mark Earth Day (22 April). The sustainable apparel line spans t-shirts, jumpers, vests and hats for both men and women and will be available online at vayyu.com and select retailers.
The new Peanuts x Vayyu range includes garments designed by students from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the UK, following a fashion design competition supported by Peanuts Worldwide and Vayyu. Final year students in NTU’s BA Fashion Design course were challenged to develop a unisex collection called ‘Snoopy Just Got Green’ to embody Vayyu’s ethos of design responsibility and sustainability, and to bring their ideas to life through the colours of nature and the characters of Snoopy and the much-loved Peanuts gang.
Over 50 students took part in the competition, and the designs were judged by the university’s lecturers as well as representatives from Peanuts Worldwide, Vayyu and WildBrain CPLG. Competition winner Alex Bolton, as well as runners up Tom Chin and Alice Doyle, will see a selection of their designs included as part of the new Vayyu x Peanuts collection, and stocked at a Vayyu pop-up shop in London his summer and also at NTU’s store. The students also receive a set of the final collection garments featuring their respective designs, a percentage of the net profit from sales made of their designs and work experience with Vayyu.
The Peanuts x Vayyu collection and the NTU design challenge is part of Peanuts Worldwide’s “Take Care with Peanuts” initiative, a global multi-year enterprise encouraging everyone to take care of themselves, each other and the Earth. In honour of Earth Day, Peanuts Worldwide has also recently released its latest original short as part of the campaign titled “Take Care of the Earth: Choose to Reuse”.
Tara Botwick, Senior Director, Territory Management EMEA at Peanuts Worldwide, said: “With consumers looking to make more environmentally friendly choices, we knew that Vayyu’s commitment to creating ethical and sustainable products would make them an ideal partner to expand our premium apparel offering for Peanuts. What’s more, the Nottingham Trent University students have done a fantastic job at immersing themselves in the Peanuts archives and creating concepts that were focused on protecting the environment and natural world. The whole collection is timely, eye-catching and bold and we’re confident this is just the start on a successful long-term partnership with Vayyu.”
Chris Desai, Founder and Director at Vayyu, adds: “With Peanuts being one of the world’s most iconic brands and Vayyu® leading the way in sustainable luxury fashion, it’s hugely exciting to champion environmental conservation together. The remarkable ‘Take Care with Peanuts’ initiative shows how brands can lead the way in making this world a better place and as we continue driving sustainability in fashion, we’re proud to bring this new collection to market.”
Emma Prince, Nottingham Trent University’s course leader for BA Fashion Design, concludes: “The Peanuts and Vayyu collaboration has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to work on a real-life design project with a focus on sustainability. The students have learnt so much, utilising their design skills and combining that with graphics and character licensing – there’s been some amazing outcomes and we’re very excited to see their designs become part of Vayyu’s first collection.”
As an organic sustainable brand launched in London four years ago, Vayyu was ranked the second most ethical company in the UK by the Good Shopping Guide 2018. The brand supports a number of global environmental conservation initiatives through its charity, the Vayyu Foundation. With shared environmental values, Nottingham Trent University is one of the most sustainable universities in the world. It ranked third in the UK by the People and Planet University League, and fifth globally in the UI GreenMetric.
