Has the estate struck a licensing deal for apparel and clothes yet for major retailers?

I just bought a "vintage" look PURPLE RAIN shirt from KOHLS... Also HOT TOPIC is selling PRINCE t-shirts as well.

Link to the shirt I bought, I love the vintage look:

https://www.kohls.com/pro...NwodVooAyQ

the Hot Topic has a shirt on sale (19.92) not bad...Looks good! The "tag" has Prince in the Purple Rain font...

So I am thinking that it is legit. Unlike some stuff on Amazo or even walmart web sites with 3rd party sellers...

HOT TOPIC LINKS:

http://www.hottopic.com/p...mp;start=6

http://www.hottopic.com/p...mp;start=1

Wouldn't "legit" P stuff have either a Paisley Park or NPG label, not simply P's name in the Purple Rain styled font?

LBrent said:

Wouldn't "legit" P stuff have either a Paisley Park or NPG label, not simply P's name in the Purple Rain styled font?

it seems unlikely that any major retailer would directly sell counterfeit merch...

OnlyNDaUsa said:

LBrent said:

Wouldn't "legit" P stuff have either a Paisley Park or NPG label, not simply P's name in the Purple Rain styled font?

it seems unlikely that any major retailer would directly sell counterfeit merch...

Happens all day every day on EBay...But, if it seems unlikely...

Uh huh. Ok.

I'm not judging...just pointing out the obvious, but...

Carry on.

LBrent said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

it seems unlikely that any major retailer would directly sell counterfeit merch...

Happens all day every day on EBay...But, if it seems unlikely...

Uh huh. Ok.

I'm not judging...just pointing out the obvious, but...

Carry on.

Ebay is not a major retailer. It's a place for people to auction things. That is nothing at all like a major retailer.

BeatofBlackWings said:

LBrent said:

Happens all day every day on EBay...But, if it seems unlikely...

Uh huh. Ok.

I'm not judging...just pointing out the obvious, but...

Carry on.

Ebay is not a major retailer. It's a place for people to auction things. That is nothing at all like a major retailer.

Oh really? Ask the entire country of China. The CEO of ebay helps them copy stuff in a matter of hours. Special shipping deal perk with the USPS too.

The Hot Topic Purple Rain shirt is dope. I would have bought it right now but it's out of stock in almost all sizes. It's about time they license out some good Prince shirts. I'm not a fan of the ones they have for sale from Paisley Park. Would love to get a legit shirt of Prince wailing on guitar... Or Sign Of The Times album cover... Purple Rain album cover... 1999 album cover... etc.

BeatofBlackWings said:

LBrent said:

Happens all day every day on EBay...But, if it seems unlikely...

Uh huh. Ok.

I'm not judging...just pointing out the obvious, but...

Carry on.

Ebay is not a major retailer. It's a place for people to auction things. That is nothing at all like a major retailer.

Again...I'm not judging...I didn't earn the money y'all wanna spend...and I won't profit from any purchase.

I'm simply pointing out that "legit" P stuff has the PP/NPG logo.

As far as "major retailers", I live in NY and there are sooooo many counterfeit items, including CARS, sold all the time. It's nothing new and there have been plenty of documentaries made about the mostly Asian importers doing that. A search on YouTube brings up plenty of these documentaries.

I only mentioned it because the OP seemed concerned about authenticity of the items. If authenticity isn't an issue, please feel free to ignore my post, but assuming that a "major retailer" wouldn't sell counterfeit merchandise is naive at best.

Anyway, enjoy.

[Edited 5/6/17 14:59pm]

E319 said:

The Hot Topic Purple Rain shirt is dope. I would have bought it right now but it's out of stock in almost all sizes. It's about time they license out some good Prince shirts. I'm not a fan of the ones they have for sale from Paisley Park. Would love to get a legit shirt of Prince wailing on guitar... Or Sign Of The Times album cover... Purple Rain album cover... 1999 album cover... etc.

Check the link to the KOHLS one.. Same thing but says PRINCE instead of PURPLE RAIN...

feeluupp said:

E319 said:

The Hot Topic Purple Rain shirt is dope. I would have bought it right now but it's out of stock in almost all sizes. It's about time they license out some good Prince shirts. I'm not a fan of the ones they have for sale from Paisley Park. Would love to get a legit shirt of Prince wailing on guitar... Or Sign Of The Times album cover... Purple Rain album cover... 1999 album cover... etc.

Check the link to the KOHLS one.. Same thing but says PRINCE instead of PURPLE RAIN...

Thanks but I didn't like the Kohl's one. I prefer it to say "Purple Rain" and "Prince and the Revolution." Thanks anyways.

LBrent said:

laurarichardson said:

LBrent said:

Again...I'm not judging...I didn't earn the money y'all wanna spend...and I won't profit from any purchase.

I'm simply pointing out that "legit" P stuff has the PP/NPG logo.

As far as "major retailers", I live in NY and there are sooooo many counterfeit items, including CARS, sold all the time. It's nothing new and there have been plenty of documentaries made about the mostly Asian importers doing that. A search on YouTube brings up plenty of these documentaries.

I only mentioned it because the OP seemed concerned about authenticity of the items. If authenticity isn't an issue, please feel free to ignore my post, but assuming that a "major retailer" wouldn't sell counterfeit merchandise is naive at best.

Anyway, enjoy.

[Edited 5/6/17 14:59pm]

--A couple of weeks ago Dr. Funkenberry said Hot Topic had official shirts. The estate has licensing deal for shirts and Hot Topic sells a lot of legit band merchandise.

Well...if Dr Funkenberry said it...then there ya go...it's been said.

So again, enjoy.

feeluupp said:

The Purple Rain Hot Topic shirt is back in stock in all sizes! Just ordered myself one!

http://www.hottopic.com/p...mp;start=6

[Edited 5/7/17 14:18pm]

[Edited 5/7/17 14:18pm]

paisleylove said:

Thanks for posting about the shirts available at Hot Topic stores. I made a special trip today to snag one. They only had four left - none in my size. Got one anyway. Prices were a good deal: buy one t-shirt, get second for $5.00. Came to $26.90 for both before tax. The shirt says it is indeed official merchandise, in case anyone was wondering. I can't seem to figure out how to upload a photo from my phone right now (sorry!), but it says underneath care instructions: Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. Paisley Park Enterprises Inc. Officially Authorized Merchandise. Under License to Bravado Merchandising, All Rights Reserved. RN#102050

Which makes way more sense than simply a "tag written in the Prince font" to denote authenticity, no?

I just purchased the Kohls 1 a week or 2 ago. I like it n the collar says it's official, that's enough 4 me . Gonna have 2 check Hot Topic in near future for the symbol shirt

This is indeed official merchandise.

The Estate did a merchandising deal with a company called Bravado, which is the merchandising and branding wing of Universal.

Bravado handle official merchandise for a huge amount of artists, including Black Sabbath, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Amy Winehouse, Alicia Keys, Guns N Roses, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Justin Bieber.........etc etc etc etc.

This deal was announced back in January and you can read about it on Variety, Billboard, Forbes.......

They have pretty nice shirts on ebay too. $10-$20 Buy it now. Nice baseball symbol shirt. Maybe not official tho.

purplepoppy said:

They have pretty nice shirts on ebay too. $10-$20 Buy it now. Nice baseball symbol shirt. Maybe not official tho.

almost certainly not official and loads of unofficial stuff on amazon and wal mart too but those are 3rd party sellers.

purplepolitician said:

I just purchased the Kohls 1 a week or 2 ago. I like it n the collar says it's official, that's enough 4 me . Gonna have 2 check Hot Topic in near future for the symbol shirt

Reason I like the Kohls one better than the Hot Topic.. Is the Kohls shirt has that vintage washed effect so the shirt looks like it's actually from the 80's... The Hot Topic one they just ironed on the regular picture.

LBrent said:

paisleylove said:

Thanks for posting about the shirts available at Hot Topic stores. I made a special trip today to snag one. They only had four left - none in my size. Got one anyway. Prices were a good deal: buy one t-shirt, get second for $5.00. Came to $26.90 for both before tax. The shirt says it is indeed official merchandise, in case anyone was wondering. I can't seem to figure out how to upload a photo from my phone right now (sorry!), but it says underneath care instructions: Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson. Paisley Park Enterprises Inc. Officially Authorized Merchandise. Under License to Bravado Merchandising, All Rights Reserved. RN#102050

Which makes way more sense than simply a "tag written in the Prince font" to denote authenticity, no?

you would have a point, but I was correct I looked at more than just the tag, but that is a good clue. The tag in many fakes is not going to be in that form most of the time. It just cost more. It is more likely to be Fruit of the Loom or Hanes or some other brand of shirt or just the size.

I also looked at the quality. Not easy to see online but it looked good. The materials and printing seem to be quality silk screening as opposed to an iron on decal.


And it is a major retailer and a direct sale. Unlike some items on other sites...even Wal-Mart has what seem to me to be fake stuff. It is possible but not likely that a major retailer would have in store or direct sales on their website.

Oh and I used to do freelance copyright stuff for Lucasfilm, FOX, WB, Disney, and TOPPS cards.

I would pay good money for one of those Purple Rain umbrellas that the Minnesota Twins were giving away on Prince night.

LBrent said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

it seems unlikely that any major retailer would directly sell counterfeit merch...

Happens all day every day on EBay...But, if it seems unlikely...

Uh huh. Ok.

I'm not judging...just pointing out the obvious, but...

Carry on.

All of this shit out there is not officially sanctioned Prince stuff. The ONLY place to buy genuine sanctioned Prince clothing/memorabilia, etc....is officialpaisleypark.com. That's it, there is NO OTHER PLACE. No matter what it is that you are buying, if it didn't come from officialpaisleypark.com, it's not genuine. And you are not helping the estate to keep itself afloat buying whatever from non-official sources.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

LBrent said:

Which makes way more sense than simply a "tag written in the Prince font" to denote authenticity, no?

you would have a point, but I was correct I looked at more than just the tag, but that is a good clue. The tag in many fakes is not going to be in that form most of the time. It just cost more. It is more likely to be Fruit of the Loom or Hanes or some other brand of shirt or just the size.

I also looked at the quality. Not easy to see online but it looked good. The materials and printing seem to be quality silk screening as opposed to an iron on decal.


And it is a major retailer and a direct sale. Unlike some items on other sites...even Wal-Mart has what seem to me to be fake stuff. It is possible but not likely that a major retailer would have in store or direct sales on their website.

Oh and I used to do freelance copyright stuff for Lucasfilm, FOX, WB, Disney, and TOPPS cards.

Sorry it took so long to see your latest comment, I had actually moved on...

So in your mind, a counterfeit product will never be of superior quality...and a "major retailer" can always be trusted to never sell counterfeit products.

Got it.

I can't stress how much evidence there is to dispute this, but...Ok...

Again, not judging anyone's right to purchase as they wish.

*Poof*

Of course it helps the estate to buy the official but it's ok to waer Prince stuff that isn't, imo. It still spreads the magic. Making your own Prince stuff to wear is good too.