Teen Vogue and KidSuper Studios have unveiled a limited-edition merchandise collection featuring an unexpected New York symbol: a bedazzled cockroach worked into the graphic of a white T-shirt. The Teen Vogue x KidSuper collection will be sold exclusively at Teen Vogue Fest in Brooklyn on Saturday, 25 July.
The drop brings together three T-shirts and two tote bags designed by Daveed Baptiste, Shriya Myneni, Rojin Jung, Kent Anthony and Ahmrii Lorraine. Each emerging designer was asked to translate a personal experience of New York into merchandise for the festival, which is returning to the city for the first time in eight years.
Inside the Teen Vogue X KidSuper Collection
Introducing our limited edition Teen Vogue X @kidsuper merch, available only at #TeenVogueFest on July 25 in NYC. 🎉🗽 Check out the collection celebrating the city we call home, and get to know the designers: https://t.co/gAA5AxNQGJ pic.twitter.com/gNXd5Y10Da
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) July 23, 2026
Baptiste's T-shirt places the Teen Vogue name inside an oversized gold-toned nameplate suspended from an illustrated charm necklace. A food cart, dice and other city references sit around the chain, but the most eye-catching detail is a cockroach rendered with jewel-like decoration. The insect is part of the printed design rather than a real cockroach attached to the garment.
The Miami-raised designer and photographer, who founded his namesake label in November 2023, describes his work as 'fantastical denim with a Caribbean twist'. He said he creates for people who want to be noticed, adding: 'I think you want to enter a room and command attention.' Baptiste also called his designs 'conversation starters', a description that fits a shirt turning one of the city's least glamorous residents into jewellery.
Teen Vogue fashion director Tchesmeni Leonard said the collaboration allowed each participant to reinterpret the publication through a different creative lens. 'Each designer brought a unique perspective and collaborative spirit to the design process, making the experience both inspiring and rewarding,' she said. Leonard added that seeing the publication reimagined by the designers had been particularly exciting.
Five Designers Turn New York Into Merch
The remaining pieces move through other recognisable parts of city life rather than following one visual theme. Jung's T-shirt draws on New York's breakdancing culture, while Myneni's design uses bodega menus, signs and food imagery and includes a QR code linking to a map of some of her favourite local places. Anthony and Lorraine created tote bags inspired by the city's busy streets, scaffolding, stoops and community networks.
Myneni, a Parsons School of Design graduate whose thesis collection previously appeared in a KidSuper show, linked her approach to her experience as an immigrant. 'Food has always been one of my strongest connections to comfort, community, and belonging,' she said. She wanted the shirt to operate as more than festival merchandise, describing it as a keepsake and a guide to neighbourhood businesses where communities gather.
Jung, a South Korean designer based in New York, said his contribution was shaped by youth culture and the pressure placed on young creatives to prove themselves. 'Teen Vogue represents being yourself, feeling empowered, and not being afraid to stand out from the crowd,' he said. His graphic reflects that message through energetic imagery connected to the city's street-dance history.
Where the Limited Edition Collection Will Be Sold
The collection is scheduled to be available only at Teen Vogue Fest at the Duggal Greenhouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The official launch did not disclose individual item prices or announce an online release, making attendance the only confirmed route to buy the pieces. General admission tickets were listed at $99, while premier passes had sold out.
The programme includes fashion, music, culture and career sessions, with KidSuper founder Colm Dillane due to join Who Decides War designers Ev Bravado and Téla D'Amore and fashion creator Wisdom Kaye for a discussion about community-led brands.
The merchandise project gives five developing designers a shared platform while preserving visibly different points of view. In a collection built around New York's polished and chaotic sides, the cockroach becomes one detail within a wider portrait of the city rather than a standalone novelty.
