Ever noticed how fashion brands are teaming up with sports teams and players to create iconic campaigns? From the F1 paddock or the football pitch to media days or Instagram posts, the terrain of fashion marketing continues to expand.
This is not an entirely new trend, however. Stardom and attention to sporting personalities have been around for decades, yet the micro-analysis of our favourite player’s recent appearance at an awards ceremony or media day has never been greater. Moreover, in a world where the sporting industry has growing competition in the entertainment sector, clubs, and teams are incentivised to maximise their financial profitability. A sports team is no longer just a sports team—it’s a business, and it must act like one.
But I’d argue the link between sports and fashion goes deeper than beefing up profit and loss margins. Sports at the highest level flaunts the achievements of human biology; in a dance of movement and technique, there is beauty to be found in the symmetry, creativity or strength that many athletic pursuits demand. Blend artistic flair on the pitch with aesthetic and functional clothing and you’ve got a winning formula. Put this on live TV, in the heat of the battle, and no wonder it garners the attention and admiration of spectators everywhere.
This makes kit collaborations a mutually beneficial arrangement for the player, team, and company logo. Many partnerships aim to attract a younger audience, staying relevant and appealing to the next generation of fans and indeed players. For the athlete, a professional playing career is not forever. Making a living and securing your future is an imminent necessity, so creating your own brand and style adds character to the on-field persona and diversifies your revenue streams. The fashion companies themselves provide a solution for both groups. They can tap into new markets and expand their reach through marketing campaigns or sponsorships that spring off cultural icons, straight into the public and fan consciousnesses, aligning their vibe with the right person or team.
The teams making waves
Italian football has seen numerous teams undergo rebrands to differing levels of success, characterised by fashionable kit partnerships and flashy photoshoots. AC Milan teamed up with streetwear brand Off-White for its exclusive 125-anniversary clothing range, promoted by Vogue Italia as “redefining the concepts of ‘formality’ and ‘uniform’ in menswear”. Their link aligns the city of Milan—Italy’s fashion capital—with footballing street culture, allowing fans to buy further into a lifestyle promoted by their team.
Venezia FC has also caught the limelight with their hugely successful rebranding in 2021 with a new range of jerseys in combination with Kappa, designed by Bureau Borsche and Fly Nowhere. The partnership arguably produced some of the most timeless and stylish designs of football kits in recent memory, promoted by professional modelling shoots throughout Venice, and its canals and cloisters, drawing a clear link between the city’s cultural heritage, and footballing pride. This arrangement has been taken over by a Nike off-shoot owned by rapper Drake, with his fashion company Nocta taking over Venezia’s newest kit designs underscoring the renewed popularity and success of the football-fashion link.
Nevertheless, it cannot always be said that fashion in football is such a happy combination. PSG’s Qatari-owned rebranding after the acquisition in 2013 was a clear example of sportswashing and featured a huge fashion campaign, mixing the stylish Parisian clothing aesthetic with its footballing heritage. Their partnerships with the likes of Levis and Dior felt simply inauthentic and calculated.
Whilst we have seen examples of fashion and football working, the question remains; does a team pivoting away from being football first diminish the fan experience? With contrived graphics and patterns created by a corporation or think group, it sometimes just seems fake and alienating. Striking the balance and staying true to the club’s heritage is key and remembering that the reason most fans tune in is for the sport, not the clothing.
The player in the spotlight
With social media and huge press coverage, stardom in sports has never been bigger. Players have taken the opportunity to show off more of their personality, building a personal brand that extends beyond the pitch. With the rise in player-owned fashion companies and megastars signing lucrative sponsorship deals with fashion giants, the benefits of ‘player of the match’ performances have never been greater. Alignment of personality and clothing is the goal, and some play this game alongside their chosen sport and add more 0s to their end-of-year earnings with it.
The F1 paddock has turned into a fashion runway in the last decade, led by fashion trailblazer Lewis Hamilton. On the back of his generational driving greatness, he has launched his own clothing brand “+44”—a nod to his lucky driving number. With a different trendy fit across all four days of every race weekend, the paddock really is his stage of free marketing, with hordes of photographers capturing everything on and off track. He is not alone, however. Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu has been quick to the fashion scene in the paddock, linking up with luxury brands beloved by consumers in China, highlighting the link between sports stars and their fan market. Moreover, most sports teams are sponsored by a fashion company, and it is commonplace for driver contracts to include track appearances and media days wearing their sponsored brands.
Brand-player alignment is a powerful tool in generating marketing and revenue for these companies, furthering advertising to chosen sectors by backing these markets’ biggest stars. Virat Kohli is one of the biggest names in South Asia and bestowed god-like status by adoring cricket fans in India. He has been working with Puma to design kits that he wants to wear and support his athletic and sporting endeavours. This goes hand in hand with Puma’s position as the biggest athleisure company in India, outdoing both Nike and Adidas—a rare feat. Authenticity is lent to this partnership as Kohli inputs ideas to Puma himself, meaning he actually wants to wear the kit that he came up with!
Companies across the athleisure and haute couture spaces have jumped at the chance to influence sports fans worldwide. Fans want authenticity, and players capitalise on this. Proven success with male sports stars has seen an uptick in the promotion of female sporting figures and their representation of sponsored fashion. In a world that is incredibly competitive for players and teams, and brutal on those who are left behind, this is a necessary step for many to ensure survival and longevity. If diehard sports fans must suffer through sometimes weird attempts of their team to be cool and edgy in the name of long-term continuity, then I’d argue it’s a very reasonable price to pay. However, it is ultimately up to teams, players, and fashion companies to align themselves and add genuine value, rather than launch a gimmicky cash grab.