The Star Wars Disney Couture collection comprises a range of unisex jewellery, watches and accessories incorporating Star Wars motifs and messages. The line includes iOS and Android-compatible smartwatches and ‘smart’ bracelets, as well as dog tag-style necklaces, leather bracelets and cufflinks containing USB drives.
According to Disney Couture managing director Michael Tran, The Walt Disney Company approached the supplier earlier this year about developing the new jewellery range.
“It was instantly agreed that this would be a fantastic opportunity for Disney Couture,” Tran said, adding that the range would be treated as a stand-alone collection as opposed to incorporated within its existing Disney-themed offering.
The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm, the production company behind the Star Wars film franchise, in 2012.
“We began our Star Wars Disney Couture project with a clear vision that it would be a separate brand to Disney Couture, yet still wanted to draw on our brand positioning and strength to ensure customers would associate our quality and service with this new entity,” Tran explained. “The deal means a whole new licence for us (with Lucasfilm and Walt Disney) so we felt like all aspects should be treated as a new business.”
New opportunity
Tran said the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens film, which will be released on Thursday 17 December, was the catalyst for the launch of the new collection.
He added that the “phenomenal” hype surrounding Star Wars and the subsequent demand for related paraphernalia presented a “huge opportunity” for the local jewellery industry.
“We are confident that there is an extremely strong future for the Star Wars franchise and therefore our brand,” Tran stated, explaining that the supplier intended to expand on the range in the future.
“We have designed the range around the classic characters as well as touching on the new favourites from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, so there are so many end consumers that our stockists can now reach out to that perhaps would never have been their target previously.”
Tran added that Disney Couture was the only local supplier with an official licence to distribute Star Wars jewellery, and that the collection would be exclusively available from independent retailers in Australia and New Zealand.
Local and international consumers will also be able to purchase the collection via a new Star Wars Disney Couture-specific online store that will go live on 15 December.
Disney Couture was founded in 2012 and specialises in Disney-licensed jewellery incorporating iconic characters such as Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Bambi and Alice in Wonderland.
PIECES FROM THE COLLECTION