Source: Jazwares/The Toy Book

An industry vet with experience at Hasbro, Disguise, and the Rubie’s Costume Co. will lead the charge at Jazwares‘ new costume play division.

Stephen Stanley was named general manager and senior vice president of the department that will focus on the year-round development of licensed costumes. Following its recent deal with Marvel, Jazwares’ costume business is swinging into action with plans to develop products for all ages and interests, from everyday dress-up to high-end cosplay outfits, masks, and accessories geared toward convention enthusiasts. The range will span dress-up trunks with outfits, masks, roleplay, pet costumes, Halloween decor, and treat carriers.

Stanley will lead a team of fellow industry vets and report to Jazwares Executive Vice President and Partner Michael Rinzler.

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Jazwares’ costume play team also includes divisional design lead Anthea Koveos Rodgers,  previously head of costume design at both Disguise and Palamon; Halloween and Party Senior Sales Director Michael Esposito, who was most recently national sales manager at Rubie’s; Senior Brand Director Thomas Schilling, previously category manager at FunWorld and the Marvel and Star Wars brand manager at Rubie’s; and Vice President and General Manager of Jazwares Costumes in China, Terry Ma, who joins the company from his previous role as General Manager of Disguise China. The team also includes Angelina Castro as marketing director, Maxwell Lux as senior brand manager, and Daniel Jung as associate brand manager.

The company plans to have its first range of everyday costume play products and dress-up trunks in stores next spring.

Additional items will roll out at retail leading into Halloween 2022 as Jazwares preps “hundreds” of items inspired by Squishmallows, the Marvel Universe, the Spider-Man Spiderverse, and the Star Wars galaxy.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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