Social Media and Nostalgia Stir Up Demand for Snoopy Fashion
One everlasting dog has tugged on the heartstrings—and wallets—of generations for over half a century, including nostalgia-loving Gen Zers.
Snoopy, the iconic beagle among cartoonist Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts crew, is “having a moment,” said Melissa Menta, Peanuts Worldwide’s senior vice president of marketing and communications.
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Sarah Meyer, a Gen Zer who describes herself as a long-time “Snoopyhead,” said she’s seen a spike in Snoopy’s appearances over the past few months.
“I’ve been noticing Snoopy more lately on clothing, in internet memes and in decorations. My friends and I have started to send photos of anything Snoopy-related to each other, and we’ve noticed an increase in those photos lately for sure,” Meyer told Rivet.
Other Gen Zers on socials have caught on to Snoopy’s pupularity.
“Why is Snoopy everywhere all of a sudden?” users on X, formerly Twitter, have asked.
Menta said though the Snoopy mania may seem extra hot right now, the character has never lacked recognition or fame. Social media and Gen Z “rediscovering the same characters everybody has loved for years” has more to do with his recent, skyrocketing success, she said.
Charlie Brown’s loyal dog has long shown up on fashion and apparel, but a new trend popped up in 2023 and into early 2024: Gen Zers showing off that apparel on social media.
Menta said much of Snoopy’s popularity right now comes from TikTok, where young consumers have posted videos of their Snoopy clothing collections and TikTok Shop vendors have started selling Snoopy apparel. New accounts dedicated to Snoopy and the Peanuts have turned the gang into relatable memes.
Snoopy’s official TikTok account, @Snoopy, saw unprecedented growth at the end of 2023, Menta said. In Q4 2023, the account gained nearly 210,000 followers, which Menta called “the highest net follower growth the account has ever seen in one quarter.”
Meyer said part of the reason she thinks Gen Zers have flocked to embrace Snoopy is his relatability for young people trying to navigate their way through early adulthood.
“Snoopy is really his own person—or dog, I suppose. He has a great imagination, is comfortable being alone with himself and expresses himself honestly. I think a lot of young people can relate to that, or aspire to that,” she said.
Retail Rewards
Consumers’ interest in the furry friend has led to success for retailers hawking Snoopy gear licensed by Peanuts Worldwide LLC.
Aéropostale announced Wednesday it had released a Camp Snoopy capsule collection to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Snoopy’s Beagle Scouts, a series that has Snoopy leading Woodstock and other bird friends on outdoor adventures.
The collection features hoodies, graphic T-shirts and tanks, fleece shorts and more. The company said the collection should help its customers embrace the outdoors, just as Snoopy and friends do at camp.
“Creating the Camp Snoopy collection allowed us to continue to give Aéro and Snoopy fans apparel with an element of nostalgia while offering pieces that seamlessly transition to the spring,” said Michael DeLellis, executive vice president of marketing for Aéropostale, Lucky Brand and Nautica at SPARC Group.
The company found previous success with its release of a 2023 holiday collection featuring Snoopy, Woodstock and other characters from Schulz’s iconic comics. The capsule featured a varsity jacket and a variety of hoodies and sweatpants.
Social media users quickly took to the brand’s collection.
According to a spokesperson, Aéropostale was “pleasantly surprised” by the success of the collection, which it promoted via TikTok and other social media. The spokesperson added, “It far exceeded our expectations in terms of sales—both in our stores and on Aeropostale.com.”
DeLellis said the natural next step was to keep the partnership going.
“We wanted to build on the momentum and expand the collaboration to a whole new level,” he said. “In collaboration with the Peanuts team, we were able to curate an assortment that we were all excited about featuring Camp Snoopy right in time for spring.”
DeLellis said the team designed the collection to be gender neutral and noted that, “Camp Snoopy felt like the perfect transitional collection rolling into…the warmer months.”
Like the holiday 2023 collection, DeLellis said the brand will target Gen Z with its new merch.
“Our past collaborations made it evident that the beloved characters have universal appeal across various age groups,” he told Rivet. “While Gen Z remains our focus, we anticipate this collection will resonate broadly, appealing to both younger consumers and those who have cherished Peanuts throughout their lives.”
Other brands will soon be releasing more Peanuts-branded merchandise to get in on the fun.
Menta told Rivet Peanuts Worldwide will release collections with Urban Outfitters, which already has a few Snoopy pieces in its standard offerings, and Kohl’s this spring.
Though Snoopy has the most clout of all the Peanuts’ characters, Menta said others, like Pigpen and Charlie Brown, have at times taken the stage for campaigns.
The brand has a program called the Armstrong Project, which is a scholarship program for students pursuing animation, illustration and more at HBCUs. The program’s namesake is Peanuts character Franklin Armstrong, who is named after Black cartoonist Robb Armstrong.
Menta said the Peanuts collaborated with Harlem’s Fashion Row in 2023 to feature Franklin on a sweater, which sold out in about an hour.
In 2025, the Peanuts will celebrate its 75th anniversary. Menta said that milestone could lead to the addition of merchandise and programs that highlight a number of characters from the comic.
“Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown are definitely the three characters that have the most merchandise focused on them, but there’s been different collections throughout the years,” she said. “We’re always looking to build out programs with the different characters, and I think for the 75th, you’ll see that,” she said.
