If you were on the New York City subway this summer, you likely saw the season’s new must-have accessory: portable fans. From electric hand-held models and neck fans to traditional paper fans, cooling devices like fans are emerging as an accessory as ubiquitous as a pair of headphones.
New York City recorded temperatures reaching 100 degrees this summer, the hottest numbers on record in over a decade. But extreme heat is increasingly becoming the norm rather than an outlier event. According to Berkeley Earth’s 2025 Global Temperature Report, 2025 was the third-hottest year on Earth since 1850. The number of heat waves per year in the United States has doubled since the 1980s, according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
Taking a cue from fashion and beauty marketing, makers of fans and other cooling devices are looking to collaborations, stylish colorways and influencer marketing to make cooling devices like fans into not merely a functional tool but also a desirable accessory.
“We are witnessing the start of a huge category explosion because being dangerously hot isn’t a summer gimmick — it’s a daily comfort issue,” said Katie Sturino, founder of body-care brand Megababe. “There’s no ‘cooling aisle’ on retail shelves yet, which means we get to build that space, educate shoppers and lead the conversation.”
After a sweltering trip to Japan left her looking for products to provide instant heat relief, Sturino launched Megababe’s “Coldies” cooling patches. Designed to be worn under bra cups or around the neck, the reusable patches sold out a week after their August release and triggered a 6,000-person waitlist for the next drop. In August, Megababe partnered with the floss brand Cocolab to sell Coldies at the University of Georgia during Rush Week.
While products like cooling patches are worn under clothes, a handheld fan is as visible as a pair of sunglasses. With that in mind, Swedish air-care brand Blueair is leading with design to stand out in an increasingly competitive portable fan market.
“I think what people are doing is they’re really utilizing these items as an extension of their wardrobe and how they want to feel that day,” said Lindsay Lane, head of brand at Blueair. “Rather than leading with specs and dimensions and how many feet the airflow will reach, I wanted to lead first and foremost with a lifestyle and with a design story.”
While the brand’s $59.99 AlwaysCool Portable Handheld Fan is available in neutral tones of black and white, Lane said its sage green colorway has emerged as the best seller. Blueair pumped up the bold colors even further with a tennis ball-green colorway made in collaboration with tennis star and brand ambassador Jessica Pegula ahead of the 2026 U.S. Open.
Partnering with athletes like Pegula and fellow American tennis star Tommy Paul, who was announced as a brand ambassador in September, also helps Blueair reach what it calls “wellness enthusiasts” — consumers who are willing to pay for premium products to enhance their sense of wellbeing.
“These are the people that are habit-stacking,” said Lane. “They’re constantly improving their routines and wearing all the wearables, and [thinking about], ‘How can I do my sleepy-girl mocktail at night?’ We become a part of all of these different things by way of [these consumers] optimizing their lives in all ways.”
Blueair isn’t the only fan brand to use color and outside figures to boost its desirability. To promote its $99.99 Hushjet Mini Cool Fan, Dyson partnered with content creator Mina Ceran on a “What’s in my bag?” video at the Cannes Film Festival — the blush pink mini fan fits inside her clutch along with a lip liner and gloss. The $69.99 JisuLife Handheld Fan Pro1 Mini is available in black and an on-trend lilac. For $149.99, SharkNinja offers its ChillPill Personal Fan and Cooling System in a bevy of colors ranging from hot pink to matcha green.
Now is the time to capture new consumers looking for a fan. According to data from Reddit, from September 2025 through August 2026, the subreddit r/PortableFans generated 16,900 global views, representing a 2,075.8% increase year over year. Pinterest searches for mini handheld fans were also up 64% from August 2025 to August 2026, while portable neck fan searches were up 55%. Searches for “hand fan aesthetic” surged 98%.
There’s precedent, too, for turning a practical purchase into something more with intangible benefits: just look at water bottles.
Stanley was already known for sturdy, temperature-retaining water bottles before it turned the humble tumbler into a must-have collectible with exclusive colorways and collaborations with brands like LoveShackFancy and Farm Rio. Competitor Owala, known for its more portable design and poppy colors, has staged pop-ups with lines that rival an exclusive sneaker drop. (According to Casey Lewis’ After School Substack, the Hydrojug supplanted Owala as the water bottle of the 2025 holiday season.)
For all the rise in gadgets, there’s still room for the classic hand fan. At New York Fashion Week in September, brands like Retrofête and PatBo offered branded portable hand fans to attendees — a practical accessory that also doubles as a portable billboard.
Even with new tech hitting the market, consumers still embrace analog tools over fancy gadgets: According to Pinterest data, year-over-year searches for “traditional hand fan” were up 145% in August.
