The hype around the release of Priscilla, Sofia Coppola’s new film about the former wife of Elvis Presley, has been building for months. There have been press conferences, magazine cover shoots starring its lead actors Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny, and fans have made TikTok montages dedicated to the duo. But it goes even further than that. Rather than swearing their allegiance enthusiasts are wearing it. From a rhinestone-embroidered “Priscilla” T-shirt to a winged eyeliner kit and a gold heart-shaped locket tied on a black ribbon, like one Priscilla wore in real life, the merch-ification of the film is in full swing.
Spearheading the branded swag is the film’s US distributor, A24. Over the past decade, the former indie startup has acquired and produced some of the best, most zeitgeisty TV shows and films. Think Euphoria, Uncut Gems and the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once.
These shows all have dedicated admirers, but even more notable is how A24 itself has accrued its very own fanbase. The studio’s alphanumeric string has become a brand in its own right, associated with a company that champions clever, inclusive and slightly weird stories. And like all erudite brands tapped into the cultural climate of 2024, it comes with merch. A24’s distinctive wordmark comes emblazoned across baseball caps, T-shirts and even forearms. There may be millions of Potterheads in the world, but how many have a tattoo of the Warner Bros logo?
A lot of A24 items sell out within minutes of being made available to buy online. A Reddit thread has more than 137,000 subscribers, within it a sub-reddit dedicated to discussing the merch. T-shirts regularly fetch double the retail price on secondhand sites, while some companies sell cheap dupes. In April 2022, the studio launched a membership programme, giving subscribers the chance to buy even more exclusive merchandise.
Aside from its own A24 products, the studio’s online shop sells promo products for each of its titles. This is often highly specific, an IYKYK (if you know, you know) wink. Everything Everywhere All at Once saw the release of packets of goggly eyes and latex gloves with hot dog fingers. There was an incense temple for Midsommar and an embroidered grey pyjama set for Beau Is Afraid.
Its limited-edition runs and “drops” tap into the hypebeast culture of fashion. Its unusual collaborations and product drops echo streetwear goliath Supreme, which has released everything from hoodies with Burberry to logo-emblazoned dog bowls and toolboxes. A24 has made clothing with the streetwear brand Online Ceramics, candles inspired by “classic film genres” with Joya and most recently J Hannah, a Los Angeles jeweller, on a 14-carat-gold “Priscilla locket”.
Representatives for the brand notoriously don’t speak on the record. However, many of its collaborators say that A24’s creative director, Zoe Beyer, approached them with the initial idea. For Jess Hannah Révész, the designer of J Hannah, it was via an Instagram DM. “It’s the biggest compliment when someone you’re already closely paying attention to and respect reaches out to say that they admire our work,” says Révész. “Those moments feel very special to me because it feels like a loop of creative inspiration and mutual appreciation.”
Its mass appeal also reflects the wider shift of merch from fandom to fashion. At its most basic level, A24 has become a club for cinephiles. A natural extension of “film Twitter”. Wearing its merch is a simple method of showcasing one’s onscreen interest offline. For years, there has also been a lack of memorabilia for cinephiles. Unlike music fans who can easily buy ephemera at concerts, fans of TV shows and films were often only left with sourcing bootleg T-shirts online. Rather than blockbuster productions such as Barbie, which saw its parent company Mattel partner with more than 100 brands and retailers spanning pink dresses, makeup and roller skates, product from A24’s hits tend to gather momentum over time.
A nod to A24 shows you know your niche rather than mainstream cultural signifiers. In a world in which the lines are becoming ever more blurred between online and offline, it’s not what you wear but who. For many, the biggest flex is a £30 baseball cap from a specialist film studio rather than a four-figure luxury bag.
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