Y's just did something it has never done before. Yohji Yamamoto's label is releasing its first-ever collaboration with Betty Boop, the cartoon flapper who has been a star since 1930. The Y's x BETTY BOOP capsule is three original graphic T-shirts, and it drops Friday, October 16, 2026 at every Y's store in Japan and on the official online boutique. A label famous for black, drape and restraint meeting the most glamorous cartoon of the 1930s is a pairing nobody saw coming.
The three tees
Each design takes Betty in a different direction, and Y's describes them as pieces that can be appreciated as works of art as much as T-shirts.
- YE-T12-966: Betty seated on a chair, a composition Y's says brings the charm of the character into an original still image. It comes in White, Grey and Black.
- YE-T13-966: Betty holding a compact mirror. Y's calls this the edgy, street-inspired one, with a sense of disruption. Also in White, Grey and Black.
- YE-T14-966: a polka-dot design that plays with letterforms to merge the initials of Y's and BETTY BOOP into what the label calls an intriguing visual code. Black only.
All three are cotton, unisex and come in four sizes, S through XL. Y's frames the whole capsule as Betty's glamorous, charming appeal meeting its own distinctive masculine sensibility, which is a very Yohji way to describe a cartoon tee.
Who Betty Boop really is
Betty is older and stranger than most people remember. Y's announcement includes an official history of the character from Fleischer Studios. She was created by Max Fleischer for Talkartoons, a series of early sound animated shorts made for Paramount. In the first one, Dizzy Dishes (1930), an early, unnamed version of Betty appeared as a stage performer singing and dancing alongside Bimbo, a dog-like character.
Inspired by the flappers and entertainers of the 1920s, she quickly evolved into a human character and became, in the studio's words, the world's only female animated film star at the time. Voiced by Mae Questel, she appeared in more than 100 animated productions, 90 of them in the official Betty Boop series, which ended in 1939. She was also the first cartoon character featured on A&E's Biography. Today Fleischer Studios still runs the character as a global licensing and entertainment brand.
How to get one
The pieces are already listed in Y's Betty Boop collection on THE SHOP YOHJI YAMAMOTO, ahead of the October 16 release. Check the official boutique for current pricing, your region's availability and which size and color combinations are still in stock. Y's says customer questions should go to your nearest Y's store.
Why it matters
This is Y's first time working with Betty, and the label has kept it tight: three shirts, no hoodies, no accessories. That restraint is the point. You get a cult Japanese label's take on a piece of 1930s American animation history without it turning into a merch dump. It sits right next to the other Japanese labels we keep watching, from Needles and its A Tribe Called Quest drop to Kapital's BORO LABO jacket. For more on the craft side of Japanese fashion, read our Japanese denim brands explained.
Shop Y's x BETTY BOOP · Y's announcement · Fleischer Studios
