The rise of merch-core: As Swifties like Tom Cruise hop on bracelet swapping trend, experts reveal why clothing branded on your favourite stars is cool again (and how to wear it without correctly!)

With 90s and noughties fashion making a major fashion comeback, it was alway only a matter of time until slogan tees came back with bang.

After all, who can forget the popularity of shirts boasting cultural icons of the early 2000s - with music fans making it clear whether they were team Britney or Christina by wearing tops emblazoned with their favourite popstrels.

Fashion moves in cycles, and very often, what's de riguer one year, is a fashion faux pas a single season later. For many years, a relatively new breed of celebs - YouTubers - have supplemented their income streams by selling 'merch'.

The term, an abbreviated form of the word 'merchandise', can encompass any range of goods - from clothing, to mugs, to notepads and all sorts of other items featuring the star's branding or likeness.

Musicians have long supplemented their income by selling posters and t-shirts at their concerts. 

Superstar Beyonce wears a Stevie Wonder T-shirt during a special event called Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life  in LA, in 2015

Taylor Swift is snapped wearing a Shania Twain T-shirt following a recording session at the Electric Lady Studios in New York

But with streaming services seriously impacting recording artists' revenue streams, income they once received from selling solid copies of their output - CDs, even cassettes and vinyl - has been decimated, making alternative income streams hugely important.

Another piece of pop merch is the Taylor Swift friendship bracelet trend, which have become increasingly popular during her wildly successful The Eras Tour.

The fad appears to have been started by fans who took the lyrics to her Midnights song You're On Your Own, Kid to heart and followed her lead when she sang: 'So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.'

Swifties have since been making and trading colourful, beaded, friendship bracelets with each other and then taking to social media to boast about their growing collections.

And a number of celebrities have been snapped sporting the wrist wear, like Reese Witherspoon, Channing Tatum, Gayle King and Gigi Hadid. Even Tom Cruise has reportedly jumped onto the trend.

It's not the first example of famous people rocking other celebrities' merch: stars like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and actor Max Greenfield have all been snapped wearing tops bearing the likenesses of musicians.

And not just high-profile people who have jumped onto the merch bandwagon: during the Covid-19 pandemic, when eateries were forced to close their doors for some time, a number of them produced merch, allowing their most loyal fans to help support them, while showing off their allegiance to the brand. 

In fact, this type of merch became so ubitquitus by 2021, that the Guardian described tops emblazoned restaurant names as 'the new band tees.

Pop star Harry Styles joins the merch trend, donning a T-shirt featuring pop princess Britney Spears

And who can forget Greggs' sellout line of t-shirts, flip-flops, socks, tracksuit bottoms and other items, so enamoured were fans with the high street bakery.

After all, as with football shirts or other sports garbs, wearing merch is as much - or more - about presenting an identity to the world as it is about supporting an artist, brand, team, business - even a bakery.

Greggs collaborated with Primark to create the range, which it launched in 2022.

The limited-edition collection, featuring everything from bucket hats to sliders and hoodies, as available in 60 Primark stores in the UK, until the stock quickly sold out.

It marked the first time the two high-street stalwarts collaborated, with the exclusive pieces set to go on sales this weekend with prices ranging from £7 to £16. 

According to stylist Rochelle White, there is 'a fine line between looking trendy and not'.

She told FEMAIL: 'When it comes to Taylor Swift, her merch is very much "on trend now".

'Her fans are not only loyal to her, but to many of her songs and lyrics. She has really capitalised on that by creating merch that people want.'

Describing how to make your merch look stylish, she said: 'When it comes to rocking music/ artist merch, I think it's important to keep it simple.

'Branded Tees/ hoodies etc should be rocked with basic bottoms and have that as the feature.'

Tom Cruise, pictured at a recent Taylor Swift gig, is said to have engaged in the friendship bracelet trend

If you got too far, you can run the risk of looking somewhat immature, she explained.

Rochelle said: 'I think when you're fully decked out, it comes across quite young and over the top. Keep it simple and pair the items with basic and on trend pieces. '

And when it comes to some pieces, you might want to consider not wearing them at all, she said.

'I think that when concert/ tour merch is available, it becomes a limited edition and people want their piece of history,' Rochelle explained, 'as it could be a chance to get your hands on a limited edition pieces, which of course makes you feel you have a piece of fashion/ merch history.

'Replicas of items will always appear, but there is value in original pieces.'