bsp; The collection is part of Disney’s 100th anniversary celebrations, which have seen the entertainment giant collaborate with the likes of Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger and Pandora, and launch immersive pop-ups in Westfield shopping centres around the world. .  Duck’s co-founder Vivy Yusof shared theinspiration and emotion behind the collection, which, much like its muse, aims to bring joy to generations. The story so far “We’ve been collaborating with Disney for six years now and have had a lot of fun doing many collections – princesses, Mickey and Minnie, Marvel ones too. For our tenth collection, it’s also in conjunction with Disney’s 100th anniversary,” she told Inside Retail. For this collection, Yusof said that the team wanted to go back to the beginning – to the mouse that started it all, Mickey.  “A much-loved character in most, if not all of our childhoods, Mickey is someone we have fond memories with, and the team and I really wanted to go back to him for this milestone. Never did I think I could collaborate with him 30 years later,” she added. Yusof said the collaboration feels like the brand is making history on its own terms. “Disney was the first global brand to collaborate with us and we are the first modest fashion brand in the world to collaborate with them. It’s a first for both sides, and that already felt like a significant milestone,” she noted. The design process According to Yusof, the design process for this collection was inspired by the history of its feature character. “We found the fact that Mickey made his movie debut in 1928 in Steamboat Willie as one of the earliest black-and-white cartoons so apt. So the print featured a cinema entrance, and the rest all fell into place with the whole jazzy Great Gatsby glamour feel. We wanted to go back to Mickey Mouse’s first animation days in old cinemas,” she explained. Each scarf design has more than 100 hidden Mickey Mouse emblems, reflecting the creative lengths the design team went to with this latest collaboration. “It’s always a meaningful thing with every piece of our art. The same here – to pay tribute to Disney’s 100th anniversary, we wanted 100 hidden Mickeys in our print. It’s not just beautiful, but we also want our customers to enjoy and have fun with the print,” she said. For Yusof, the ongoing partnership with Disney has been extremely fulfilling on a personal level. “I think this personal experience taught me that good things are ahead for each one of us, and we don’t even know it yet – so fret less, enjoy life, enjoy work, and great things await,” she stated. Integrating the Disney element Beyond scarves, Duck’s apparel staples like the Ava set, jumpers and bestselling Rianna shirts have been updated to incorporate Mickey elements. “There are subtle embroideries here and there, and there is a bedazzled jumper of Mickey and a saxophone that gives our everyday jumper a boost of glamour with the diamantes,” she said. Both the scarves and ready-to-wear apparel collections have a limited release, driving customer demand. “We will never restock them, so that’s why people love to collect Ducks,” Yusof said. “There are everyday evergreens of course that people can constantly enjoy at Duck, but the limited-edition ones are truly special.” The brand is known for its bestselling satin silk material, which it also uses for its special collections. “From time to time, we mix it up with other materials like matte satin silk and chiffon. We even did 100 per cent real silk before which was the luxury collection, and we do full diamante scarves with our collaboration with Swarovski,” she added. Receiving international acclaim Since launching in 2014,Duck has received international recognition, and Yusof is proud to be seen as an aspirational modest fashion and lifestyle brand. “Branding is something I’ve focused on and I’m protective of who Duck associates with, this is consistent with everyone from collaborators to influencers to even my team. They need to truly understand my mission of wanting to elevate the level of modest fashion and make it desirable. It’s not just products we’re selling, it’s a feeling, it’s a lifestyle,” she elaborated. She added that the goal is to continue this path, and focus on the brand’s plans without being distracted by what its competitors are up to. Next year will see an array of exciting collections from the brand, and Yusof is keeping the cards close to her chest. “There will be exciting enhancements to our products and services. In terms of categories, I will lead the expansion of our ready-to-wear and bags categories, to complement our core scarves category. All in all, an exciting year ahead for people to get Duck-ed!,” she concluded.