Moomin merchandise and fashion: 80 years of ultra-savvy marketing that taps into childhood nostalgia

By Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children's Literature & Childhood Culture, Queen Mary University of London

On a visit to the British Library in London to research this piece, I was preceded by a woman with a lilac-coloured tote featuring a mischievous-looking girl with a severe top knot and black dress. I instantly recognised the distinctive outline of Tove Jansson’s Little My, one of the many brilliant characters of the Moominverse.

A committed researcher, I summoned up the courage to ask about the bag and the woman carrying it. Anna – visiting the library to work on her fairy tale novel – immediately told…

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