Love Tribe is a new brand starting to make waves in the world of geek fashion. Since their launch on March 30, they’ve released pop culture lines inspired by Disney princesses, Nickelodeon ‘90s TV shows, and the classic Peanuts characters Snoopy and Woodstock. The collections are available in junior sizes at Macy’s and offer a different take on bringing these properties to fashion.

According to Bonnie Dogan, vice president of sales for specialty retailers at Love Tribe’s parent company Hybrid Apparel, the brand grew from a desire to do something revolutionary in the industry after seeing the shifts taking place in fashion in recent years.

“We wanted to come up with something that’s unique. That’s been designed with passion and love and that has nostalgia behind it and has the sense of being able to buy it, wear it, and keep it forever. Not just a wear it once and throw it away kind of thing. Then leave it in the closet for a while and come back to wear it again in a few months’ time,” Dogan told GeekFold. “Love Tribe took a lot of work with the team to come up with something that we could explain to our buyers and retailers the meaning behind it and why they maybe have to pay a little more for it and maybe why they have to think a little outside of the box.”

Dogan said she told buyers it’s not about making money quickly since they want to build something that will withstand time and they don’t want to just ship something out every single month.

“We’re going to come up with these collections that are meaningful maybe not 12 times, but six times a year and create passion behind it and get our customers excited about when our next delivery is,” Dogan said. “We’ve come up with these collaborations that kind of change the dynamic of what the retailer and the customers have been used to in the past.”

It’s an ambitious idea for the new brand, but one they keep in mind with each collection. When coming up with these lines, Dogan said she looks at trends and looks for something nostalgic with meaning behind it. For the Disney princess collection, Dogan explained that they wanted “to evoke that feeling that there’s not just one kind of princess in the world. There’s all different kinds of princesses.”

“We’re all unique in our own way and so we brought that into the art and the characters,” she said.

Love Tribe’s Nickelodeon collection saw the focus on shows like Rugrats, Hey Arnold!, All That, and more. With this line, Dogan said they went away from what they were doing with a lot of pastels and feminine looks and went with a “bright tomboy feel.” Their latest line is Peanuts, which also went in a new direction by focusing on athleisure.                                                      

“Athleisure is not really loungewear or activewear. It’s kind of like that clothing that maybe you’re going to the gym but then you decide not to! It’s fun,” Dogan said. “When you put on active types of clothing with cool messaging and you’re wearing these free-flowing fabrics that give you movement, it does inspire you to do more than just sit around. I think whether you are going to the gym in it or whether you are just wearing it around the house, between the positive quotes and the designs, you’re going to get moving either way.”

The other way Love Tribe wants to make their items have meaning is to support causes and charities with their collections. Beyond their pop culture collections, they released a Fashion Against Bullying line with Compassion Brands where part of the proceeds go directly to TEEN LINE. For the Peanuts and Nickelodeon collections, they are aiming to send 10% of proceeds after costs to a non-profit that Hybrid Apparel started called Black Book Sessions.

“Everything that we do has to have meaning and purpose behind it. It can’t just be about a buck and fast fashion. It has to always be linked to something,” she said.

As for the future, Dogan said there’s more to come. Some collections might receive new items, but they won’t be the same as what you’ve seen before. They’ll have a different look and feel.

It’s something to watch for as the only months-old Love Tribe continues to expand with new lines. With their goals, it will be interesting to see what they come out with next.

You can see all of Love Tribe’s collections on their website.

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