Studio Ghibli GBL Unveils 12 T-Shirt Designs for Spring and Summer 2026

Twelve Designs Bring Nine Ghibli Films Into Everyday Clothing

A levitation stone that glows in the dark, transparent jellyfish and characters disappearing into a pocket are among the details in GBL's 2026 Spring Summer Basic T-Shirt collection. The adult clothing label associated with Studio Ghibli has unveiled 12 designs drawing on nine films, combining American casual styling with Japanese craftsmanship.

As of April 24, 2026, the collection brings together lightweight cotton shirts with embroidery, reflective printing and applications made from different materials. Their film references range from the playful chase in My Neighbor Totoro to the commanding expression of Moro in Princess Mononoke.

GBL builds its designs around particular scenes rather than simply placing familiar characters on clothing. Some details appear on sleeves, backs or small pockets. Others become visible in darkness or respond to a camera flash, giving individual shirts a second layer of interest beyond their main image.

The collection continues the understated approach associated with the label, whose first permanent store opened at MIYASHITA PARK in Shibuya in 2020. Its clothing is intended for adults who want to keep favorite films close while wearing something that fits an everyday casual wardrobe.

The nine films represented are Laputa Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Pom Poko, Spirited Away, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle. Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away and Porco Rosso each receive two designs, bringing the total to 12.

How GBL Built Its Adult Fashion Identity

GBL, an abbreviation for Ghibli, emerged in 2017 as a specialized line under Benelic Co., Ltd. It was created for adult fans seeking more sophisticated alternatives to conventional character merchandise.

The company describes its approach as an American casual aesthetic. In practice, that means vintage washes, carefully shaped silhouettes and discreet embellishments, instead of relying on the large, colorful graphics often found on anime clothing. The film connection remains central, but the garment also has to work as casual fashion.

GBL's earlier releases show how that approach extends beyond basic T-shirts. Military jackets introduced in 2017 used rayon fabrics and detailed embroidery inspired by Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Hawaiian shirt lines in 2022 celebrated Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke through blends of cotton and rayon.

The label has also collaborated with Good On, a Japanese clothing manufacturer known for heavyweight cotton construction. Those embroidered pieces featured Totoro and Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service, with vintage white and navy colorways.

These collections connect the label's film references to different kinds of clothing. Jackets, Hawaiian shirts and heavier cotton pieces give GBL a wider wardrobe identity, while the 2026 collection returns to lightweight cotton options as temperatures rise across Japan.

The Collection's Place in GBL's Timeline

GBL's seasonal clothing program has developed alongside its retail presence. The 2020 Spring Summer line contained 22 designs across nine films, the same number of films represented in the new collection.

The 2026 range therefore has 10 fewer designs than that earlier seasonal release, while retaining the breadth of nine film titles. Its variety comes partly from the different ways it treats individual scenes, from plush embroidery to transparent and reflective materials.

• 2017: GBL emerged under Benelic Co., Ltd., and its military jackets featured Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away embroidery on rayon fabrics.
• 2020: The first permanent GBL store opened at MIYASHITA PARK in Shibuya. The Spring Summer collection featured 22 designs across nine films.
• 2022: Hawaiian shirt lines celebrated Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke using cotton and rayon blends.
• October 2025: Long sleeve designs highlighted Totoro and characters from Spirited Away.
• November 2025: A Howl's Moving Castle shirt featured the Witch of the Waste and her henchmen, known as Blob Men or Rubber Humans, emerging from shirt seams through rubber printing.
• April 24, 2026: The unveiled Spring Summer Basic T-Shirt collection comprises 12 designs drawn from nine films.

The October and November 2025 releases also show the label's continuing interest in the placement and texture of an image. The henchmen emerging from seams used the structure of the garment as part of the scene, an approach echoed by the pocket details in the new Totoro shirt.

Cotton Construction With Details That Change in the Light

The 2026 shirts use 100-percent cotton treated with a stonewash process. That treatment gives the fabric a soft, worn texture intended to improve with age, matching the vintage appearance central to GBL's casual styling.

Sizes run from small through extra large, expanding availability across previous collections to accommodate a wider range of body types. Herringbone tape reinforces the shoulder lines to help prevent stretching through repeated washing and wearing. This construction detail supports the collection's focus on durability alongside its decorative work.

The printing and embroidery techniques serve different purposes. Phosphorescent ink stores light and then produces a glow in darkness. Reflective material responds to light directed at it, including a camera flash. Both change how a design appears, but they create different effects.

Transparent polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, provides a see through surface for the jellyfish on the Ponyo design. Embroidery adds another kind of detail: raised thread gives some characters a more physical presence, while chain stitch and sagara techniques create different textures. The collection also uses three dimensional embroidery and applications combining different materials.

GBL's creative team describes its intention as preserving the emotional impact of a person's first experience of a Ghibli film. The brand's statement connects its clothing for adults with the desire to keep favorite characters and memories nearby:

Across the valley, into the forest. Take a boat, out to sea. Ride a broom, into the sky. What was the first Ghibli film you saw? I want to cherish the excitement and memories I felt at that time forever. I want to always feel close to my favorite films and characters. With this in mind, the brand for adults, GBL, was born.

The label connects that intention to material quality and precision in design, drawing a parallel with the studio's approach to animation. Details on the reverse of shirts and on interior tags give observant fans additional references to discover.

Laputa and Kiki Turn Small Moments Into Main Designs

The Laputa Castle in the Sky shirt recalls the scene in which Muska holds the levitation stone over a stone tablet. Parts of the lettering use phosphorescent material, allowing them to glow faintly in darkness. An embroidered levitation stone appears on a small pocket on the back.

Kiki's Delivery Service receives two distinct treatments. The first focuses on the comic moment when Jiji must impersonate a stuffed toy. Sagara embroidery creates a plush, tactile surface, making the character's texture part of the reference to that scene.

The orange background was selected to match the carpet in Kiki's residence. On the reverse, a subtle line print depicts Jeff, the dog who supervises Jiji during his performance as a toy. The front and back therefore carry different parts of the same episode.

The second Kiki design adopts the retro pop style of the 1980s, marking the film's theatrical debut in 1989. It shows Kiki and places her red radio on the left sleeve.

The radio detail indicates that the device is switched on and playing music as Kiki encounters a senior witch during her flight. Instead of concentrating every reference in the central graphic, the shirt uses the sleeve to retain a smaller element of the film's action.

Pom Poko and Spirited Away Use Embroidery to Tell Their Stories

Pom Poko's design shows Ponkichi practicing transformation alongside beckoning cats. Embroidered details make him stand out, while a large print on the back refers to the tanuki's plan to study humans and revive the arts of transformation over five years.

The wording on the back is presented in the style of Abbot Tsurukame from the film. This gives the shirt both a character image and a reference to the wider effort driving the story.

Spirited Away also has two designs. One depicts Zeniba's house, using chain stitch embroidery on yarn and drapery techniques on thread spools. These choices give the household objects different surface textures rather than presenting the entire scene as a flat print.

The second design places No Face against a solid black background. Thick cotton thread forms the embroidered character, accompanied by text referring to the bathhouse being off limits to humans.

The two Spirited Away shirts offer different ways to recall the same film: one through the objects and textures of a house, the other through a single recognizable character and the rules of the bathhouse.

Ponyo and Totoro Make the Garment Part of the Scene

The Ponyo design captures the character riding a large jellyfish while sheltering beneath a smaller one. Transparent PVC forms the jellyfish portions, producing an unusual see through effect in T-shirt construction.

The material choice gives the aquatic creatures a quality that ordinary opaque printing would not provide. The jellyfish are part of both the image and the surface of the garment, linking the method of decoration directly to the scene.

My Neighbor Totoro takes a different approach. Its shirt depicts Mei chasing the small white and medium blue Totoro, with the creatures fleeing into a pocket on the front.

The pocket becomes part of the action rather than simply a place for an added emblem. Embroidered leaves on the back recall the moment when Mei's face becomes covered in foliage, extending the reference beyond the chase shown at the front.

Porco Rosso, Moro and Howl Bring Stronger Expressions

Porco Rosso's first design uses reflective printing to reproduce the light signals flashed toward the Mamma Aiuto gang. The message reads "You're Beat. Do What I Say," and the reverse carries the Savoia aircraft emblem.

The reflective finish links the shirt's response to light with the signals in the film. A second Porco Rosso shirt shows Porco trying to maintain order among rescued children, using embroidered details and the phrase "Be Quiet" on the back.

Princess Mononoke's design focuses on Moro's commanding expression, accompanied by the text "Silence, Boy." Its impact comes from the character's expression and the accompanying words.

Howl's Moving Castle uses transparent printing to reproduce the sticky green substance emitted by Howl during the cleaning scene. Sophie appears sweeping on the reverse, connecting the front's messy moment with the action on the back.

Across these designs, GBL uses familiar dialogue, gestures and objects to make each reference specific. A fan may recognize the precise scene, while someone unfamiliar with the film can still read the shirt as casual clothing with an unusual graphic or texture.

Where the Collection Fits in Ghibli's Retail Market

GBL products are distributed through Donguri Kyowakoku, the specialized Studio Ghibli merchandise chain, alongside selected online platforms. The Spring Summer collection is available through the chain and affiliated online shops.

Recent GBL collections have ranged from 4,880 to 9,900 yen, depending on design complexity and sleeve length. That range places the label in the middle of the fashion market and within reach of adult collectors. Individual prices for the 12 new designs and an exact release date were not given.

The collection arrives during sustained international interest in Studio Ghibli's catalog, following the opening of Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture and continuing streaming availability that introduces classic films to new generations.

GBL directs its clothing toward adults with money to spend and an established attachment to those films. Its approach separates the range from children's merchandise while retaining the emotional connection to characters and scenes.

The quieter references also give the garments a dual role. Embroidered leaves, a radio on a sleeve or a small levitation stone can serve as recognizable signals between enthusiasts without dominating the appearance of the clothing. The 2026 collection develops that idea through 12 designs whose materials and placement are closely tied to the moments they depict.

The Bottom Line

• GBL's 2026 Spring Summer Basic T-Shirt collection features 12 designs inspired by nine Studio Ghibli films.
• The adult label combines American casual styling with Japanese craftsmanship and specific references to film scenes.
• Techniques include phosphorescent and reflective printing, transparent PVC applications, chain stitch, sagara and other embroidery.
• The shirts use 100-percent cotton with stonewash processing and herringbone tape reinforcement at the shoulders.
• Sizes range from small through extra large, with distribution through Donguri Kyowakoku and affiliated online shops.
• Recent GBL collections have cost between 4,880 and 9,900 yen, depending on the garment and its design.