Taking cues from the Pokémon Sleep app, the video game company has aptly teamed up with the Japanese-designed luxury loungewear brand Gelato Pique.
Self-describing itself as “wearable dessert for adults,” the brand creates loungewear items that bring joy to the customer’s lifestyle, focusing on textile texture and functionality while maintaining its originality through color palettes and designs.
Notably, Gelato Pique has grown into a massive brand, having gained momentum with its 80 stores across Japan and 20 more stores located across China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 2018, the brand also established itself in the U.S.
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For its latest collaboration with Pokémon, Gelato Pique hopes to cater to a wide range of shoppers including men and women of all ages – especially busy 20- and 30-year-olds – who are looking for a good night of sleep and to be relaxed when they wake up. To do this, the sleepwear company looked for inspiration in the Pokémon Sleep tracker app that has made sleeping into a form of entertainment.
Prioritizing physical and mental health, the Pokémon Sleep tracker app was created with help from a sleep specialist and designed to help people get a much needed full night’s rest — in line with Gelato Pique’s ethos of valuing sleep and healing. And importantly, through this collaboration, Akiko Makishima, producer, of Gelato Pique said the company has gained “more knowledge and a better understanding of the joys of sleep.”
“It’s not just printed or designed characters on the products, but also the product’s influence and focus on classifying sleep as entertainment, with relaxation as the underlying concept,” Makishima told Fairchild Studio.
A total of 38 items were created for the collection, featuring fan-favorite characters such as Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Snorlax. Hand towels, pouches, blankets, eye masks, headbands and cushions are also available within this collection. The Gelato Knit series depicts Pokémon using the brand’s GELATO fabric for dresses, leggings, parkas and shorts. The cuffs of the sets have embroidered sleeping Pokémon and a Gelato Pique logo.
Other collaboration highlights include the Jacquard Knit series with pullover and long pants set in a Baby Moco puffy fabric, with an embroidered sleeping Pokémon in jacquard and chenille. As a perfect gift, matching sets for Pikachu and Snorlax are available for men in a variety of pastel hues of navy, ivory, pink and blue.
Notably, Gelato Pique has found success in previous collaborations with Animal Crossing, Super Mario and more. Makishima notes that this collaboration with Pokémon sets itself apart from the countless other fashion and gaming crossovers with the two companies overlapping concepts of sleep.
“With this collaboration, people will be able to immerse themselves in the world of Pokémon from the moment they choose their loungewear and hangout until going to sleep,” said Makishima. “Gelato Pique, as a loungewear brand, creates a soothing experience with our fluffy materials, and Pokémon Sleep’s goal is to make sleep an entertainment experience, therefore the mutual strong will to do so has resulted in a wonderful collaboration that transcends the boundaries of apparel and apps.”
The Gelato Pique and Pokémon Sleep collaboration is available to shop starting Sept. 28, 2023,
at the Gelato Pique store at 125 Orchard Street in New York and online: gelatopique.us/pages/pokemon-sleep.