How 40 Fans Helped Shape ACOTAR™ x Knix
When the opportunity came to bring Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses universe into the world of Knix, there was one thing we knew immediately:
We had to get it right.
Not just make something beautiful. Not just borrow a few recognizable references from the books. We wanted the collection to feel like it had been made by people who genuinely knew and loved the world of ACOTAR.
So, for 18 months, that’s exactly how we approached it.
We pulled together the ACOTAR fans across Knix HQ—about 40 of us in total—and brought them into the process from the very beginning. They weighed in on early concepts, prints, product names, references and even fan merch ideas, helping shape the collection at every stage.
And the fandom ran even deeper than that: every print was hand-drawn by an ACOTAR superfan on our own design team. The result? A collection made with the kind of care only fans can bring to something they love.
Choose Your Court. Choose Your Fantasy.
The collection takes inspiration from four of the ACOTAR universe’s most memorable realms: Night, Spring, Summer and Autumn.
Each one has a feeling all its own.
The Night Court is celestial, mysterious and steeped in the magic of Velaris.
The Spring Court is lush and romantic, with roses in bloom—and thorns never too far away.
The Summer Court takes us to sun-soaked Adriata, with its glittering coastline, architecture and treasures.
And the Autumn Court is rich with falling leaves, fire and transformation.
Four Courts, four completely different moods—and the starting point for everything we designed.
Turning the Realm Into Prints
Some references are easy to spot.
Velaris Night Sky draws from the endless night and constellations above Velaris.
Spring Court Bloom takes its cues from the rose gardens of the Spring Court, while Thorns & All pairs those blooms with something a little sharper.
Ember Fox moves through falling leaves and flame, inspired by Lucien and the Autumn Court.
And Adriata Toile turns the Summer Court into an illustrated world of architecture, ships, shells and hidden details.
It was often those smaller details that sparked the biggest conversations.
When an early version of the Summer Court toile was shared internally, the question quickly became:
What absolutely has to be in Adriata?
The answers got very specific—shells, jewels, architecture and even the necklace Tarquin gives Feyre.
That input helped take the print from a beautiful coastal scene to something that felt much more unmistakably ACOTAR.
When the Name Matters Just as Much
The same attention went into the names.
One Night Court print features flowing, tattoo-like forms and a hidden eye, drawing inspiration from Feyre and Rhysand’s story.
The design came together quickly. The name took a little longer.
We went through several options, but a lot of them felt too broad—like they could have belonged to almost any fantasy world.
Then came Ink That Binds.
It captured both the look of the print and the connection behind it, while still feeling specific to ACOTAR.
Ember Fox sparked a similar debate.
The Autumn Court-inspired print features a flame-tailed fox moving through falling leaves, a nod to Lucien and the fiery Court he comes from. Potential names included Flame & Fox, FoxFire and Ember Fox—but even a two-word print name came with lore implications.
A compelling argument.
It’s a small moment, but it captures what the process was actually like: a lot of passionate opinions, some very specific ACOTAR debates, and a group of people who cared deeply about how every choice would land with other fans.
As Jessi, one of the fans involved in developing the collection, put it:
“No matter our role or level within the company, we were all on the same level as fans first. Everyone’s opinion was equally valued because we were all advocating for what we genuinely believed would create the best possible fan experience.”
That fan-first perspective shaped the collection from start to finish—and helped us make choices that felt true to the world we all loved.
Made for Fans, By Fans
The finished collection spans intimates, sleepwear and apparel, but the idea behind it stayed simple from beginning to end: make something that feels as special to ACOTAR fans as this world does to us.
Not ACOTAR from the outside looking in. ACOTAR made by people who get it.
So choose your Court, find your favorite print and look a little closer.
And if you spot something and immediately think, Wait… I know exactly what that’s from.
Good! We were hoping you would.
The ACOTAR x Knix collection launches October 15. This is a limited-edition drop, so if you want first dibs, sign up now to be the first to know when the collection is live.
