Bethany Mota x Aeropostale

In the winter of 2013, an 18‑year‑old YouTuber named Bethany Mota — already a cultural force with millions of followers — quietly crossed a line that had eluded most digital creators: she designed a full, branded collection for a national mall retailer. Aéropostale announced the partnership on December 6, 2013 and launched The Bethany Mota Collection in stores and online on December 8, 2013, a capsule priced between $5 and $78 aimed squarely at the retailer’s 14–17 core. The collaboration was pitched as creative co‑design: Aéropostale’s infrastructure and supply chain plus Mota’s intimate knowledge of teen tastes. ([prnewswire.com](^[1]))

The origin was simultaneously passion and opportunity. Mota had started Macbarbie07 in 2009 and by late 2013 was a salon of influence — her team and press materials cited subscriber counts in the multi‑millions — and she told journalists she wanted to translate the DIY, accessible aesthetic she used on camera into clothing fans could buy. For Aéropostale, the move was strategic: management hoped a home‑grown influencer collection could accelerate the retailer’s shift from logo basics to fashion‑forward assortments that would move margin and relevance among teen shoppers. The partnership therefore read as mutual validation: a content‑native star granting a heritage mall brand a hip veneer. ([businessinsider.in](^[2]), [forbes.com](^[3]))

Bethany’s involvement was promoted as hands‑on. Company press quotes and product copy repeatedly stated that Mota worked with design teams, chose silhouettes, and even helped pick fragrance notes and packaging when Aeropostale extended the license into beauty. A July 28, 2014 press release for “The Bethany Mota” fragrance credited Mota with involvement “in every aspect” from scent selection to bottle design and named perfumer Beth Pritchard on the project. In real terms the arrangement was typical of celebrity licensing: creative input and co‑branding rather than ownership of manufacturing, but the public story emphasized creative control and authenticity as the transaction’s unique asset. ([prnewswire.com](^[4]))

From a business‑development angle the launch followed an aggressive product‑extension playbook. After the inaugural December 2013 apparel drop, the partnership expanded to a spring 2014 collection, a July 2014 fragrance, a holiday home/dorm assortment in late 2014, and a QVC broadcast collaboration timed for the 2015 holiday season (QVC announced the Bethany Mota broadcast on September 9, 2015 with an October 5, 2015 opening slot). The cadence was textbook: convert viral attention into skus across categories and channels and monetize fans at multiple price points. Aéropostale drove the logistics — buying, sourcing and distribution — while Mota’s audience supplied traffic, earned media and, crucially, in‑store appointment events that produced measurable foot traffic. One Business Insider profile documented packed meet‑and‑greets and thousands of fans attending mall appearances in early 2014. ([corporate.qvc.com](^[5]), [businessinsider.in](^[2]))

Yet the partnership’s commercial arc cannot be told without Aéropostale’s broader financial picture. The retailer’s fiscal 2014 results showed net sales of $1.839 billion (a 12% decline year‑over‑year) and a net loss of $206.5 million; management repeatedly said it needed to transition away from logo‑heavy assortment strategies and hoped influencer collaborations would help re‑position the brand. Despite positive press and faster sell‑through on certain fashion items, the incremental impact from special collections like Bethany Mota’s was not enough to reverse multi‑year comps declines — Aéropostale filed for Chapter 11 on May 4, 2016 and emerged under a licensing/real‑estate consortium in September 2016 after a roughly $243.3 million bid. Those events fundamentally mutated the distribution and licensing model that had enabled the initial Mota launches. ([marketscreener.com](^[6]), [thestreet.com](^[7]), [ir.simon.com](^[8]))

That collision — high‑visibility influencer commerce versus a distressed retail platform — is the essential tension of the story. For Mota, the collaboration produced headline moments and measurable audience ROI: sold‑out press cycles, a most‑searched‑designer distinction in 2014 (Google rankings and trade coverage noted her surprising prominence), and the supplemental revenue streams of licensed fragrance and home goods. For Aéropostale, the initiative demonstrated a path to aspirational product and higher gross margins on non‑basic items, but the scale was too small to offset store closures and a decade‑long erosion of mall traffic. ([glamour.com](^[9]), [forbes.com](^[10]))

In the aftermath Mota diversified: she took collections to QVC in 2015, later founded jewelry line Atom & Matter (2019) and published a memoir in 2017, moving beyond single‑retailer dependency. Aeropostale, after the September 15, 2016 acquisition by a consortium led by Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group and General Growth Properties, pivoted to a licensing and boutique store strategy under new owners — a structure less conducive to long, multi‑season creator capsule programs unless re‑negotiated as global or long‑term licenses. The collaboration therefore became a high‑profile chapter in both parties’ histories rather than a durable, stand‑alone brand. ([ir.simon.com](^[8]), [en.wikipedia.org](^[11]))

What the Bethany Mota x Aéropostale case leaves behind is a modern retail lesson: creators can deliver immediate commercial traction and cultural cachet, but their brand programs still require stable, well‑capitalized retail partners, clear licensing economics, and operational durability to scale beyond a viral season. The collaboration succeeded as trend acceleration and fan commerce; it failed to become a structural fix for a legacy retailer in decline. The result is not scandal or failure so much as an instructive, measured reality: creator IP plus legacy sourcing/distribution can work — but only if both sides bring a durable engine to the table.

• December 6, 2013: Aéropostale issues a press release announcing its partnership with Bethany Mota to launch The Bethany Mota Collection; the collection is slated to hit stores December 8, 2013. ([prnewswire.com](^[1]))
• December 8, 2013: Official retail launch: The Bethany Mota Collection debuts in Aéropostale stores and online with SKUs across apparel, accessories and jewelry priced from $5 to $78. ([prnewswire.com](^[1]))
• July 28, 2014: Aéropostale and Bethany Mota expand the partnership into fragrance; 'The Bethany Mota' scent launches in Aéropostale’s ~850 stores and online — with Bethany credited as being involved in selecting the scent and bottle design. ([prnewswire.com](^[2]))
• November 2014: Aéropostale extends the Bethany assortment into home/dorm goods for the holiday season (promotional and email evidence dated Nov 13, 2014). The expansion signals a multi‑category licensing approach. ([milled.com](^[3]))
• October 5, 2015: Bethany Mota debuts an Aéropostale‑designed collection on QVC (announced September 9, 2015), bringing creator assortments into televised ecommerce. ([corporate.qvc.com](^[4]))
• May 4, 2016: Aéropostale files for Chapter 11 protection after prolonged comparable‑store‑sales declines and liquidity strain; the filing put the future of many brand partnerships into question. ([sec.gov](^[5]))
• September 15, 2016: A consortium led by Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group and General Growth Properties finalizes acquisition of Aéropostale (consortium bid reported at about $243.3 million), shifting the retailer into a licensing and real‑estate backed model. ([ir.simon.com](^[6]), [thestreet.com](^[7]))