For over ten years, audiences across the world have found joy in the Minions. First appearing in Illumination and Universal Pictures film Despicable Me, the funny yellow characters have grown to become one of pop culture’s most notable figures. Now, the Minions are making a new name for themselves in the hypebeast world. Verdy, Graphic Artist of Wasted Youth, combines the playful and youthful nature of the Minions with his own skate-punk aesthetic.

The designer sits down with VMAN to talk about the inspirations and concept for the iconic collaboration. 

VMAN: What was it about the Minions that made you want to take on this collaboration? 

V: To start off, I love Minions! I don’t like working on licensed projects so I love that I’m working with Illumination and Universal Brand Development directly. Through my past project with them, we’ve built a really great relationship. I’m also a fan of the Universal Studios theme parks. It’s been a dream of mine to have a pop up inside the Parks and now it’s finally come true. I also love that I’m able to put my character alongside the Minions. 

VMAN: The collection has a certain retro feel to it. How did you come up with the concept and designs for the collection?

V: With this collaboration I felt that it would be a great fit to pair them with my first character Vick and my skate-punk project, Wasted Youth. 

VMAN: What made you want to have the Minions meet Vick? 

V: Vick is exactly like me, I always like to meet people from different backgrounds and industries. I’ve always drawn Vick but I’ve never seen him in a 3D space. The first time I collaborated with Illumination and Universal was back in 2020 and they animated the Minions and Vick together. This was the first time my character and their characters met! 

VMAN: How do you navigate the best way to combine your own artistic style with that of the Minions?

V: For this project, I felt that using 2 out of 4 of my projects would work the best. I was able to bring the Minions into my world by combining them with my character Vick and my skate-punk project Wasted Youth.

VMAN:  What was your favorite part of the design process for this capsule collection?

V: My favorite part of the design process was the fact that I was able to work with the new Minions character, Otto. So, being able to draw Otto in my style was the best part because, outside of Illumination, no one else has ever drawn him which is very special to me.