In celebration of the brand’s 50th anniversary, Smiley has launched an in-store experience with Urban Outfitters in Europe.
Smiley says Urban Outfitters launched a Europe wide in-store experience beginning on April 4, as part of their collaboration with Smiley, which has been celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2022.
The licensed partnership is part of an ambitious and carefully selected collection of brand collaborations available across the globe through selected retail partners in 2022.
Smiley was created in 1972 by French journalist Franklin Loufrani to spread “feel-good news,” but the Smiley trademark and brand would go on to become one of the most important icons in graphic design.
In 1996 Franklin’s son Nicolas Loufrani took the helm at a time when the world was in the midst of the digital revolution. He saw a huge opportunity to bring Smiley into the digital world. Nicolas created a whole new way of communicating, using a variety of facial expressions on the original Smiley to convey emotions. His emoticons are now used by everyone around the world every day.
Today, The Smiley Company is one of the world’s top global licensing enterprises that extends across fashion and homewares.
The immersive pop up brings together the spirit of the collaboration between Urban Outfitters and Smiley and is due to take place in London, Manchester, Amsterdam, Milan, Copenhagen Barcelona, Glasgow and Antwerp.
As part of this unique campaign, Urban Outfitters has created a pop-up room environment for consumers to immerse themselves in the work of Smiley. The pop-up includes products featuring the Smiley logo reimagined by Paris-based Swedish graffiti artist Andre Saraiva, who customized over 50 products as part of a collector’s edition which stretches across clothing, accessories, technology and more.
Streetwear and activewear brands include Champion, Eastpak, New Era and Happy Socks, while Loqi and Ciate provide fashion and beauty products. Neon signage brand Yellowpop will also be available as will Sunny Life, known for their inflatable swimming pool lines.
Within the Manchester and Oxford Circus stores, consumers can engage with and create social content with an infinity mirror, and the changing rooms feature Smiley’s ‘Take The Time to Smile’ slogan.