Once you start noticing them, it’s hard to stop.
There have been several trending pieces about the phenomenon in recent years. And NASA Media Liaison Bert Ulrich, who oversees the use of NASA logos in film, television and apparel, confirms that demand for NASA-branded apparel is far from exhausted, at least based on the number of logo offers you’ve been approving. He’s been in his role for over two decades, so he’s seen trends ebb and flow. (Mostly flow) Some of the latest sales boom comes from a surprising place: American luxury fashion house Coach, which debuted a NASA-branded clothing line in 2017, Ulrich told CNN Business .
Coach originally approached NASA to ask if it could use the “worm” logo, the retro design the space agency used from 1975 to 1992. NASA, which had banned the use of the worm after he retired in the 1990s, he changed his mind. about it, allowing Coach to use the logo, Ulrich said.
And since then, the “worm” has returned to official use and cemented its widespread adoration, at least among space fanatics.
After the Coach clothing line came out, things blew up.
“Before 2017 we did five or ten [logo approvals] one week. Now it’s gotten to the point where we’re averaging 225 a week,” Ulrich said.
Last year, there were “over 11,000 applications,” he said, an all-time high.
Not all such requests are approved, Ulrich added. But the reason there’s so much interest in putting NASA logos on everything from Vans sneakers to trucker hats may have something to do with the fact that these companies don’t have to license the logo. It’s all free and NASA doesn’t make a dime. This isn’t usually how licensing deals work, but since NASA is a government agency, much of its assets, including photos, logos, and even technology designs, are in the public domain. If a company wants to print NASA logos on t-shirts or coffee mugs, all they have to do is send an email to NASA’s merchandising department, in accordance with legal requirements. It usually lands in Ulrich’s inbox. Ulrich’s job is just to make sure the logo is used in a way consistent with the aesthetic guidelines approved by the space agency. Not using unapproved colors, for example. And of course, NASA wants to make sure its brand isn’t used for harmful purposes, such as in a way that suggests NASA endorses a company or product. If a company misuses the logo, NASA’s legal office will often send a cease-and-desist letter, Ulrich said. After Coach launched its NASA clothing line, high-end designers such as Heron Preston and, more recently, Balenciaga, launched their own lines. Pop singer Ariana Grande had a song and a whole line of merchandise about NASA. There was also Adidas, Swatch, Vans and many others over the past decade. Through this lens, it is possible to explain the phenomenon through what we will call “the Miranda Preistly effect”. Remember that scene in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada where Meryl Streep’s character Priestly verbally dresses down her young, fashion-inexperienced self? He explains that the blue sweater she’s wearing is actually “cerulean,” and is as much a product of fashion-obsessed industry moguls as anything on the catwalk. Essentially, Priestly argued, fashion designers and media manage trends, and even the least fashion-conscious consumers are influenced by these decisions. But that’s only half the story, according to Jahn Hall, the creative director of Brooklyn-based design agency Consortium. , who works in scenography and styling for various brands.
Before Coach, kids bought NASA T-shirts at vintage stores because they loved the nostalgic feel, the nostalgia of an American classic, Hall said.
“You start with kids in cities like New York buying Disney merchandise or old NASA T-shirts, and suddenly some cool hunters in the fashion industry, like Urban Outfitters, see that and suddenly say, ‘We should flip some NASA-branded T-shirts,” Hall said. “It’s kind of reverse-engineering trends.”
It was probably only after the “cool kids” started wearing NASA t-shirts on the streets that designer brands picked it up and re-sold it.
Hall, the Brooklyn-based creative director, said in his mind, wearing the NASA logo is much more about branding what the logo stands for than declaring a love for outer space.
It represents “that kind of quintessentially American optimism that we can do anything,” he said.
It’s not politically affiliated, he added, and can be marketed to young liberals and rural conservatives alike, evoking the same nostalgia.
“People who work for brands like Heron Preston and Balenciaga are as enamored with the fantasy of space travel as anyone. No one is immune to that level of nostalgia, so it makes sense that these brands would want to incorporate it into their own lessons.” He said.
It has happened with other logos and franchises, he points out, like Balenciaga doing projects with “The Simpsons” or Coach with Mickey Mouse.
“These enduring symbols speak to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status. Not everyone can connect with Heron Preston or Target, but everyone has modern Americana from brands like NASA, Disney, Peanuts and The Simpsons,” he said . “Things like NASA act as this magical equalizer.”