In honour of Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday on Sunday, 18 November, Karen Walker and The Walt Disney Company have collaborated to create an exclusive, Mickey-inspired collection of t-shirts, sweatshirts, eyewear, jewellery, accessories and homeware.
Featuring pieces that embrace the fun-loving and adventurous spirit of both Karen Walker and Mickey, the Disney x Karen Walker collection is available globally from Wednesday, 7 November
“When Disney approached us to help celebrate Mickey’s 90th, it was an immediate and unequivocal yes,” says Walker. “Mickey is a true icon and it’s a great honour for me to have an opportunity to interpret his personality, which I’ve always loved, through my own lens.”
Throughout his 90 years, Mickey has inspired many of the greatest creative minds, from Roy Lichtenstein to Andy Warhol to Keith Haring and Damien Hirst. “I’ve always been inspired by Mickey and wanted to present a fresh take on his character. Both Mickey and our Runaway Girl have an inherent sense of adventure, so the collection is a nod to the heritage of both Karen Walker and Disney,” says Walker.
Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand adds: “Mickey’s 90th is a global celebration of Mickey’s heritage, personality and status as a pop-culture icon and we are delighted that Karen Walker is collaborating with us to mark this special occasion.”
The Disney x Karen Walker collection includes sweatshirts and t-shirts featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald toting bindles. The colour palette incorporates soft, muted pink, sweet cerise and sunny yellow with polka dots, alongside classic grey marle, black and white.
Eyewear for the collection comes in four Mickey and Minnie Mouse-inspired styles, including a metal-trimmed, polka dot bow lens in sheer soft pink or black, acetate and metal frames that artfully incorporate mouse ears and hands, and coloured acetates trimmed with cartoon Minnie eyelashes. Each pair is finished with the signature Karen Walker arrow temple.
Fine jewellery in sterling silver and 9 carat yellow and rose gold sees Mickey as a delicate outline pendant and marching within a small disc.
Other items in the collection include a commemorative crockery-style plate and double-sided Mickey and Minnie mugs, spotty key rings, dusty pink totes, enamel badges, and a playful filigree-embossed pink purse and backpack.
The Disney x Karen Walker collection is a very limited-edition release. It will be available globally from Wednesday, 7 November in all Karen Walker stores in New Zealand and Japan, karenwalker.com and select stores including David Jones, Harvey Nichols, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Moda Operandi, Smith & Caughey’s and Ballantynes.
A one-off Disney pop-up store will also open at Playpark by Karen Walker in Auckland on Wednesday, 7 November with the full Disney x Karen Walker collection, as well as a curation of other special 90th birthday collaborative collections, ranging from footwear, hats and watches to stationery, oven mitts and egg cups.
The Playpark experience and pop-up store is inspired by Karen’s own visits to Disneyland. She made her first trip to Disneyland as an excited seven-year-old and has been back several times since, most recently with her own daughter, Valentina. “I love the full Disney experience you get when you visit the parks and I wanted to give a little bit of that magic in my own store this Christmas,” Walker says.
The Walt Disney Company is also collaborating with Marc Jacobs and Opening Ceremony as part of Mickey’s worldwide birthday celebrations.
View the full Disney x Karen Walker collection in the gallery above.
