Loungefly & BoxLunch Fire Up the Geekiest Back-to-School Gift Guide Ever

Forget Bama Rush and all that blonde nonsense. And tear down those horrible tie-die wall hangings! It’s time for the truly colorful to shine as students of all shapes, sizes and fandoms head back to school. And there is no better way to let your geek flag fly than to trick out your dorm, apartment, and/or self with some sick product from two of pop culture’s coolest outfitters.

“For us, it’s really about community, connection and creativity,” says Aneesah Williams, the VP of Marketing at Funko, which owns the fandom-based bag company, Loungefly. “It’s about quality and [being] super-innovative.” Over the past several years, the brand’s ever-expanding line of those mini-backpacks you see all over cons and Disney parks and TikTok has blown up, and that has never been more evident than the massive crowd lined up to snag Loungefly exclusives at this summer’s Comic-Con International in San Diego.

When it comes to picking which IP to lean into, Williams explains that it’s a multi-pronged approach: “We’ve got nostalgia, we look at fandoms, and we listen to our customers to see what has them excited and what they want.” In addition, Loungefly actually goes live every week on social media “so fans can tell us what they like, what they want to see more of.”

But it’s not just as simple as slapping a movie logo onto a vegan leather backpack and calling it a day, Williams continues. As anyone who has seen a Loungefly bag knows, the idea is to take the essence of the property, be it Pixar, NFL teams, movies, or horror icons, and find a way to both celebrate it and stylize it.

“We have a whole creative team that live and breathe Loungefly, they’re looking at how they can take whatever IP and elevate it,” explains Williams. “And by the way, most of them are also fans, as well. So they understand what fans like and that is where the authenticity comes from. They work with the licensors and say, ‘How can we take what you already have, the creative, the stories that everyone knows and loves, and relate it to Loungefly?'”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by BoxLunch (@boxlunchgifts)

Another brand bringing the fun to fandom space is the Hot Topic-owned BoxLunch, which launched a decade ago with an eye for wide-ranging items — from clothing and home-decor pieces to blind boxes and, yep, Loungefly bags. And just like Loungefly, they are all about fan service.

“BoxLunch creates products that not only embrace fandom chic but also cover a wide array of license properties for those who like to decorate their spaces with a nod to their favorite movie, TV show, or streamed programming,” says BoxLunch’s SVP of Merchandising and Marketing Rick Vargas. “We are also fans of the properties, so we strive to make the best product possible to amplify the fans passion. Diversity in offerings as well as trends in the market helps us determine the key fandoms to support.” 

So as you begin packing and planning out how to stage your school vibe, we’d like to offer you some elite-level options for wearing your fandom with pride and pizazz.