They are everywhere. Those yellow, round, goggled, high-pitched, rambunctious little beings — Minions. Introduced to the world through the 2010 animation film Despicable Me, these creatures now have a following of their own with their latest movie Minions that hit the screens last Friday.
Clothes, socks, lip gloss, cereals, car stickers, decals for keyboards, phone cases, laptop sleeves, mugs, cushions, pen drives, themes for bedrooms and parties, cakes and cupcakes, sanitary napkins even. Believe it or not, Pantone, the international organisation that decides the colour of the year has now released a Minion Yellow. They describe it as the “colour of hope, joy and optimism.” This is the first time the organisation has named a colour after a character from a film: proof that pop-culture often has its say in the world of fashion, and so it is time to revel with this squeaky yellow lot as they dazzle in their moment in the spotlight.
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It’s a sea of yellow at Hamleys. The Minions have taken over a section of the store. Toys in various sizes and with various mechanisms amuse kids and adults alike. The store has always stocked toys from the movie franchise. Last week, they introduced a collection of new toys to coincide with the release of the film, and so far, 36 pieces have been sold. Micro Minions, small action figures, musical ones that make funny sounds and fart blasters (as the name suggests, it makes relevant sounds and is a super hit with the little ones apparently). “The percentage of grown-ups buying Minion toys are higher than kids. Bob and Stuart are popular among the 25 year olds,” says Antony, retail sales executive, Hamleys. And if you want the soft cuddly ones, eBay and Amazon have just that, along with badges, school/lunch bags, goggles and helmets.
Clothes and accessories
At the premiere of
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For matching footwear, there are designers and artists who hand-paint shoes, like Shailee’s Custom Painted Shoes and Tees, a page on Facebook, which specialises in Minion-themed canvas footwear. Apart from sneakers and slip ons, Fashionara.com has nude pumps with Minions in different avatars on them.
Printed T-shirts are perhaps the simplest way to wear your Minion on your sleeve. Or you can team up a blue dungaree with a yellow top just like your favourite unicellular beings. Hoodies, suspenders, hats, hair bands, baby shoes, woollen socks, cushioned flip flops and beanies are the other preferred themed accessories. And for fans of spoofs, ultykhopdi.com has T-shirts with Gabbar, Wolverine, the gang from Big Bang Theory — all Minion-fied.
Nails
Pinterest is buzzing with thousands of nail art pictures inspired by the Minions. Wouldn’t you want that cheerful yellow with faces of one or two-eyed characters on your nails? Just looking at them can brighten your day. If you can’t get salons to do it for you, YouTube has a few tutorial videos that demonstrate how to get it right. Or the easier way out would be to invest in nail stickers which are available on online portals like Aliexpress.com.
Parties
Theme parties are fun. But sometimes, coming up with an idea that has a universal appeal can be a task. Minions seem to have takers across all age groups. Right from Halloween costumes to birthday outfits, people love experimenting with this theme.
Vandana Mahtani of Lloyd’s Tea House says, “We receive quite a few orders for Minion cakes and cupcakes. In the last two months, we have catered to around 16 such orders for cupcakes alone.” The latest party that she catered to had a dessert table full of goodies inspired by the movie. Cookies, mousse, macaroons and cake pops were part of the menu and all stuck to the blue and yellow colour scheme.