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From Taylor Swift to Joe Biden, the power of fan merchandise shows no sign of ebbing
Fan merchandise is said to have been born in the 1940s when music fangirls, or “Bobby-soxers” (named for the socks that girls often wore at the time), would scribble their favourite musicians’ names on their clothes. Music merchandise has since evolved into a globally celebrated phenomenon, and recent years have seen the wave transform into a tsunami that touches every industry – from high fashion to politics.The internet has put fan culture, much like everything else, on steroids. After all,…