By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Sesame Workshop has launched two collaborative licensing partnerships with Kenneth Cole and Kidz Toyz.
Selected to close out Kenneth Cole’s fortieth anniversary, the Sesame Workshop partnership has released a co-branded capsule collection to support the mental health and well-being of children and families.
“As a father, a designer, and founder of the Mental Health Coalition, it was a natural fit for the brand to collaborate with the renowned and respected Sesame Workshop,” said MHC founder and fashion designer, Kenneth Cole. “As founder and chairman of MHC, focusing on projects through a lens of mental health has been really important to me, and the Sesame Workshop team feels equally as strongly about taking on the stigma associated with seeking support for children’s mental health and providing supportive resources,” added Cole.
“Together, we have created an impactful collection that helps to raise awareness around children’s emotional well-being.”
With the tagline Here For You On Sunny Days and Cloudy Ones Too, the Kenneth Cole x Sesame Workshop capsule collection includes a range of hoodies, t-shirts and canvas sneakers in both adult and children’s sizes.
The hoodies and t-shirts in the collection feature images of licensed Sesame Street characters alongside supportive phrases such as It’s OK to be Grouchy, Share Cookies Share Kindness, and Elmo Has Sad Days Too.
Designed by Alexander John Studios, the Kenneth Cole canvas sneakers feature a white base with four colorway accent and embellishment options.
These options include Oscar the Grouch green, Cookie Monster blue, Elmo red and Count von Count purple.
In celebration of the collection’s release, the Kenneth Cole Foundation has made a donation to support Sesame Workshop’s organization-wide focus on emotional well-being.
“Responding to the growing mental health crisis of young children, Sesame Workshop is addressing this critical need through a wide range of activities and engaging content to help children develop the essential skills they need to understand and manage their feelings,” said Sesame Workshop president, Sherrie Westin. “We are proud to collaborate with Kenneth Cole to help give voice to this important topic.”
Kidz Toyz has also teamed up with Sesame Workshop to introduce a new line of musical instruments.
“Kidz Toyz is proud to partner with the iconic Sesame Street brand and produce this special, new collection of musical instruments featuring Elmo,” said Kidz Toyz CEO, Ken Lewis. “We simply cannot wait to see the smiles and endless hours of creativity and fun that this new line of musical instruments provides young fans.”
The licensing partnership between Kidz Toyz and Sesame Workshop was brokered by Universal Branding & Media.
“Universal Branding & Media is proud to bring Sesame Workshop and Kidz Toyz musical instruments together to continue the goal that both entities have to enrich the lives of children everywhere,” said Universal Branding VP, Heidi Schwartz.
The new Sesame Street inspired instruments will include keyboards, guitars and drums featuring licensed characters such as Elmo, Big Bird, Tango, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby.