Disney and Zara Larsson are releasing a Little Mermaid collection exclusively through Complex on October 27, 2026, with tees, hoodies, totes and pin sets priced from $40 to $120. It arrives in a year when the '2026 is the new 2016' nostalgia trend has already sent Larsson's mid-2010s hit 'Lush Life' back up the charts.
Disney is giving The Little Mermaid a pop-star makeover. A new collection designed around Zara Larsson's style launches on Complex on October 27, and it arrives in the middle of a year already obsessed with looking back to 2016.
What's trending
Complex unveiled the collection on October 21. It reimagines The Little Mermaid through Larsson's aesthetic, with mermaid graphics on tees, tanks, a zip-up hoodie, a tote bag and a set of enamel pins. The palette leans on navy, white and blue, with a gold glitter accent. Prices run from $40 for the tote and tank to $120 for the hoodie, and the full drop goes live at noon Eastern on Tuesday, October 27, through Complex's shop.
Disney's global creative director, Bobby Kim, framed the collaboration as a way to connect Disney storytelling with musicians in a way that feels authentic.
Why it's resonating
The timing is hard to ignore. Since late December 2025, the "2026 is the new 2016" trend has had people on TikTok and Instagram recreating 2016's filters, songs and viral moments. The BBC reported a sharp rise in TikTok searches for "2016" in the first weeks of the year. One of the songs swept back up in that wave was Larsson's "Lush Life," a staple of 2016 playlists, which returned to international charts.
Mermaids fit the moment too. Fashion editors spent the summer tracking a grown-up return of "mermaidcore," the teal, seafoam and seashell look that first peaked around 2016. A Little Mermaid collection from a 2016-era pop star sits right where those two trends meet.
Where mermaid style shows up for kids
The Complex drop is aimed at adult fans, but the mermaid revival reaches kids most often through birthday parties. Many parents love the look but prefer original mermaid designs for invitations and decorations, which keeps the party personal and avoids licensed-character pricing. A pastel watercolor design, like our editable mermaid birthday invitation with a free party planner, captures the same under-the-sea mood with its own rainbow-haired mermaid.
The bottom line
Between a Disney collaboration, a charting 2016 hit and a summer of mermaidcore, mermaids are having one of their biggest pop-culture years in a decade. Watch how fast the Complex drop sells out on October 27. It'll be a good read on how much life the trend has left heading into 2027.