How Complex helped bring Disney and BLACKPINK together—and how I shaped the Complex.com launch into a merchandising moment for both fandoms, not only the capsule.
- ROLE
- Digital strategy and execution for Complex’s commerce launch, Complex
- OWNED
- Digital strategy and execution for Complex’s commerce launch
- COORDINATED
- Helped create adjacent Disney- and BLACKPINK-themed merchandising around the collaboration
- NOT OWNED
- Collaboration origination, licensing, product design, creative direction, partner approvals, BLACKPINK management, and production sat with others, and the full storefront, assortment, and campaign were shared work.
- WINDOW
- March 2–6, 2026 · reconstructed August 16, 2026
March 2 — Tease
The public sequence began on March 2 with a cryptic pink-grunge tease for the BLACKPINK × Disney capsule, pointing toward March 5. A later social recap included the teaser creative among the campaign’s public-facing posts.
March 4 — Announce
On March 4, the collaboration stepped into the open. Designed by Bobby Kim, Disney’s Global Creative Director, the capsule brought together tees, sweatshirts, crop tees, tank tops, a tote bag, and a fitted hat for the March 5 launch on Complex.com.
Press coverage from Complex and outside publications followed, carrying the collaboration further into public view.
March 5 — Launch
March 5 was the commerce launch on Complex.com. Complex helped bring the partnership together and operated the content and commerce around it. I owned digital strategy and execution for Complex’s commerce launch.
I also saw the audience arriving around the hero collaboration—Disney fans and BLACKPINK fans—as a broader commerce opportunity. I helped create adjacent Disney-themed and BLACKPINK-themed collections so the storefront could merchandise beyond the capsule for the people it brought in. Those collections sat beside Bobby Kim’s core capsule; they were not part of it.
March 6 — Extend the story
On March 6, Complex extended the collaboration beyond product into the story of how it came together. The Bobby Kim interview, “How Bobby Kim and Complex Brought BLACKPINK and Disney Together,” followed one day after the sale opened, carrying the collaboration from the storefront into editorial.
THE PUNK TRANSFER
THE WORK
I owned digital strategy and execution for Complex’s commerce launch, and helped create adjacent Disney- and BLACKPINK-themed merchandising around the collaboration.
Collaboration origination, licensing, product design, creative direction, partner approvals, BLACKPINK management, and production sat with others, and the full storefront, assortment, and campaign were shared work. The exact final storefront, inventory, checkout behavior, execution timing, and performance are not documented.
My part in the launch is told from my own account.
Courtesy Complex / Disney / BLACKPINK
GO DEEPER
CREATIVE CONTEXT
- Bobby Kim on bringing BLACKPINK and Disney togetherComplex editorial interview
- Disney’s streetwear contextcultural context; not a source for this Record
THE COLLECTION
- Complex capsule collection coveragepublic collection coverage
SELECTED COVERAGE