Manychat’s approach to merch: obsess over fit, build from scratch

Most company merch ends up in a drawer. Manychat’s Brand Design Studio set out to create the opposite – clothing their team would actually choose to wear, built from scratch rather than stamped onto standard blanks. The difference shows in the details: custom cuts tested against favourite personal garments, embroidered elements that add texture without overwhelming, patterns that evolved from their core brand identity into something that works on fabric. The approach centres on Manychat’s visual identity – the ‘M’ lettermark, a bright colour palette and the checkerboard pattern. Each piece explores how these elements can feel refined rather than promotional. “The biggest challenge has always been figuring out how to use these in a refined way: making pieces that feel like stylish clothing rather than just branded giveaways,” Brand Design Lead Arthur Reimer explains. The designs emerged over different years and occasions, each solving a specific brief whilst building a cohesive wardrobe. For the company’s eighth birthday celebration themed around ‘Manychat Island,’ the team created an ‘M’ with a palm tree inside – capturing both brand and event in a single mark. A summer tee transformed the checker pattern into a flower graphic that resonated so strongly people wore their shirts until they literally fell apart. The first hoodie became a testing ground for balancing graphic weight, eventually landing on black fabric scattered with colourful embroidered ‘M’s, each in its own hue. Even the blanket pushes beyond the obvious – overlaying arrow graphics onto an inverted checkerboard pattern to create fresh energy from familiar elements.