Film directors and costume designers have used merchandise in movies for decades, the characters clothing can often give us a hint for what time period the movie is based in, where they take place but most importantly it helps us understand who the characters truly are.
We like the idea of getting to know a character and what they’re into by what they’re wearing, and believe that it can strongly support the storytelling of the movie they’re in. We've spotted merchandise in some of the most popular movies, from different genres and from different decades, and here are some of our favorites.
Making a movie that takes place in Italy during 1983 needs an authentic aesthetic. Costume designer Giulia Piersanti from Céline mentioned that they based the clothing on the character’s backgrounds and what the clothes are meant to say about them. Timothée Chalamet played the role of Elio and clearly he’s a fan of the American new-wave band, Talking Heads.
Jonah Hill plays the role of a record label employee very accurately, as he’s constantly dressed in merchandise from bands such as Devo, Beastie Boys, Band Of Horses and Infant Sorrow. Infact, Jonah Hill was a huge Beastie Boys fan growing up and fast-forward to 2020, he was credited as an executive producer on their documentary, “Beastie Boys Story”.
Seth Rogen is the king of merch, at least on the big screen. In Bad Neighbours from 2014, he’s wearing a snapback and two different t-shirts from Odd Future. As Seth Rogen character’s having a hard time dealing with getting older, his clothing is definitely a sign of wanting to be “down with the kids”.
Transformers wasn’t the best movie of 2007, but hey, at least we got to see Shia LaBeouf rocking a T-shirt from your favorite indie-rock band, The Strokes.
We love a good easter egg, this time we get to see MCU's most badass superhero wearing a shirt from Black Sabbath. Despite the title of their biggest song (Iron Man) the song has no connection to the Marvel Comics character, although it was used in the end credits of the first movie.
Mike Myers and Dana Carvey still have the most memorable sketches from Saturday Night Live with Wayne's World. The metal-loving Garth can’t seem to function without his white Aerosmith T-shirt.
“Take A look at his style, Take A check of the sound”. Historical moment for Hip-hop as the coolest kid of his time, John Connor, wears a Public Enemy T-shirt. The original T-shirt worn by Edward Furlong was up for auction and is currently owned by a Norweigan collector.
Austin Powers is genuine pop culture and we want more. Seth Green, who played Scott Evil wears a rare Kurt Cobain t-shirt in the movie. We're still waiting for the 4th movie since Myers mentioned it as early as 2005, and in a 2018 interview he confirmed that the script does exist. A possible cameo for the upcoming movie could be Drake since he based his entire tour-merchandise for ASSASSINATION VACATION on Austin Powers.
Seth Rogen's character “Cal” in The 40 Year Old Virgin is the perfect merchandise ambassador. The character is seen wearing pieces from Sonic Youth, GZA, Public Enemy and Nirvana throughout the movie.
The movie is loosely based on the real life of Pete Davidson, still costume designer Sarah Mae Burton didn’t want Davidson’s character to look similar to the “SNL” cast member. Did they really manage to give the character his own style or does this still feel like a typical Pete Davidson outfit?
Jonah Hill wrote "Mid90s" with the intention to capture the feeling of growing up, without portraying specific events from his own personal life. “Ian” played by Lucas Hedges wears a Nas T-shirt. “It Ain't Hard to Tell” was released during the mid90s, more specifically in 1994.
Captain Marvel was the first movie in the MCU that took place in the 90s. Brie Larson wears a t-shirt from the industrial rock band, Nine Inch Nails. What other 90s band/artist would suit the strongest superhero in the Marvel Universe, Massive Attack? TLC? Roxette? Sade?
Adam Sandler is often seen wearing oversized cargo shorts and bowling shirts but not in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Zohan is a fan of Mariah Carrey as he’s seen wearing her merchandise plenty of times in the movie.
Once again we get to see Joy Division’s iconic artwork featured in a movie, this time by Vince Vaughn in Delivery Man. Another famous appearance was when Joseph Gordon-Levitt wore the same t-shirt in (500) Days of Summer.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, starring in the role of Fogel AKA Mclovin the 25 year old hawaiian organ donor, wears a Metallica “Justice” t-shirt in the movie Superbad. Who knew Metallica was popular with high-school age suburban kids?…
Adventureland features great vintage t-shirts from Neil Young, Lou Reed and Hüsker Dü. Here’s Kristen Stewart wearing a T-shirt from David Bowie.
Jonah Hill seems to sometimes choose his own costumes on set. In 22 Jump Street we get to see more merchandise from Tyler The Creator as Jonah’s character wears both the classic donut printed hoodie and this t-shirt.
