NEWS

Beano Studios and Radley London partner on exclusive accessory collection housed at landmark exhibition

Published on: 16th August 2021

Beano Studios is continuing to celebrate 70 years of Dennis the Menace, this time with the launch of a limited edition accessory collection developed in collaboration with the fashion brand, Radley London.

The partnership will see a selection of Beano’s comic strips styled by Radley London into expertly crafted, collectable designs in a range featuring illustrations of Dennis, Gnasher, Minnie, and Radley’s own Scottie dog across a line of bags, card holders, and purses. The collection will be available exclusively in Radley’s London and Glasgow stores, selected concessions, and online from October 4th this year.

The coillection will reference Dennis’ black and red stripes throughout, including the Breaking Rules Book Street bag, which features screen prints and foil embossing on leather. The large black tote has appliqué badges of the Beano characters and slogans and includes a detachable striped Scottie dog key fob who dons his own red and black striped jumper.

The collection also includes a collectible leather card holder which features the Dennis and Gnasher fan club logo. The Dennis fan club was originally created in 1976 and this is the first time it has been brought to life in a licensed deal.

Vanessa Andreis, franchise planning and partnerships director, Beano Studios, said: “In this momentous year for Dennis we’ve chosen iconic partnerships to commemorate his 70 years. Bringing a bit of Dennis’s loveable mischief to Radley London will be a special part of Dennis history and thanks to their incredible craftsmen we’re sure these collectible products will still be around for the next 70 years of this iconic character.”

Radley London is an official partner of Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules – a major exhibition at Somerset House. Radley’s rebellious collection of Beano-inspired handbags and accessories will be available to buy within a special pop-up shop at Somerset House during the exhibition, which runs from 21 October 2021 until 6 March 2022.

Jackie Hay, Radley London, chief product officer, added: “We are so delighted to join with Beano and Dennis in this very special year. Our Design Team had enormous fun creating a playful collection which brings Dennis and his friends into our world.

“The exclusive Picture Bag designs are made by hand by our artisan craftsmen – including cutting, dying, stitching and printing – and we can’t wait to see our collection run riot this Autumn on our handbags, purses and of course our very own Dennis fan club card wallet.”

The landmark exhibition, Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules at Somerset House will explore the relationship between Beano and contemporary art pieces with unruliness and irreverence, through the eyes of the artists who embody the Beano sensibility of rebellion.

The major exhibition will feature original comic drawings, never previously seen in public, selected across its 4,000-plus editions (to date) and rare archive artefacts, alongside works from leading artists and designers, imbued with the same Beano spirit of breaking the rules.

Recently announced contributors include artists Nicola Lane and Peter Leversidge and editorial cartoonist Martin Rowson.

Beano was first published by DC Thomson in July 1938 and is still put together in its original Dundee headquarters and printed in the UK each week. Beano has an ABC of 45,644 – an increase of 9.0 per cent YOY. The brand reaches over 5m kids a month on its digital network, centred around multi-award winning Beano.com and fans in more than 100 countries across the world can watch Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!, the Emmy nominated TV series.

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