Melo’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kids’ clothing line is coming
Things might not be going Carmelo Anthony’s way on the court these days, but at least the New York Knicks All-Star has something significant to look forward to: the release of his long-awaited (in these parts, at least) “Turtles by Melo” consumer products, the result of his partnership with Nickelodeon and appointment as the “creative director” of a line of offerings “inspired by” the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
[Follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
Evidently, the creative direction in which Anthony would wants to go is “clothing and apparel for boys.” Yes, this is a real thing, and yes, it’s coming soon. From David Moin of WWD, which a couple of passages bolded by me because I love them so much:
The capsule collection of graphic T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, pajama sets, socks, basketballs — and an over-the-door basketball hoop so that kids can show off their inner Melo — will make its debut in early May exclusively at all Macy’s stores and on macys.com, ahead of the release of the sixth “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie in June. As currently planned, the line is temporary, with products available at Macy’s until they sell out.
The New York Knicks forward said he unleashed his hidden design talent for the project. “I was basically involved in the whole creative process — the colors, which are kind of obvious considering they’re turtles, and the slogan, and the textures. I was involved in every step. We really took our time to narrow it down and figure out what we wanted. I feel good about all the pieces.”
His name will be on many of the products, in a few iterations. Some items will say TMNT x Melo; others, Turtles x Melo, however, the full name of the collection is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Melo. Prices will range from $20 to $35. […]
“Carmelo is truly a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fanatic,” said Durand Guion, Macy’s vice president and fashion director of men’s and kids. “In our initial conversations we were fascinated to learn how truly fanatical he is.”
I would very much to like to know a whole lot more about how Anthony demonstrated his true TMNT fanaticism during those initial conversations with Macy’s. I’m not sure anything can beat the scene I’ve imagined — Melo showing up to a meeting in a Casey Jones mask, holding a “KRANG SUCKS” sign in one hand and a a 77-page handwritten manifesto dedicated to the healing properties of pizza in the other — but I’d still really like to hear more, all the same. Especially if the scoop includes a blow-by-blow breakdown of the branding decision-making, with full lists of pros and cons for each “x Melo” variant, that resulted in just saying, “Screw it, they are all so good, let’s just use all of them.”
There’s no doubt that 1990s nostalgia is big business these days; for an NBA-related angle, look no further than the Charlotte Hornets’ Nick Night on Wednesday, featuring green slime, “Rugrats” mascots, a “Double Dare” course and the not-on-“Saturday Night Live” half of “Kenan and Kel.” As I wrote when word of Turtles by x Melo first popped up back in June, getting involved with something that’s on trend, that provides an avenue into a massive potential revenue stream (TMNT consumer products reportedly netted $1.5 billion in retail sales last year, and parents need to buy lots of kids’ clothes, man) through a popular retailer, and that might open the door to some design work of his own seems like a pretty wise business move for the 31-year-old Anthony, who has made it clear in the past that he wants to be known for stuff besides basketball, especially after his playing career’s over.
Sure, it’s a bit goofier and less haute couture than Russell Westbrook developing a collection with Barneys, but on the off chance that there’s a bigger market for a $25 Turtles x Melo boys’ T-shirt than there is for a $2,600 croco-print trolley, Melo might wind up having the last laugh after all. And given the way things have been going at his day job recently, the laugh would probably do him good.
More NBA coverage:
– – – – – – –
Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
Stay connected with Ball Don’t Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, “Like” BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don’t Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.
