The RM Williams heritage pieces for Rugby Australia;Sam Kerr of on the touch line beneath the Hublot scoreboard during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia& New Zealand at Brisbane Stadium on August 12;the Leagues Cup merchandise from Liberal ministry of Youth and creative director Guillermo Andande.
Rugby Australia partnered with RM Williams in September looking for more immediate results. A capsule collection of heritage-inspired jerseys was released before last month’s Bledisloe Cup in Melbourne.
“To be in and around Melbourne when the Bledisloe was on and to see the jerseys in the crowd was incredible for the RM Williams community and the Wallabies community,” says Daniel Aldridge,special projects manager at RM Williams.
“We wanted a cohesive range that looked like a jersey but was also nostalgic and fashion forward. I wanted it to be accessible for a 16-year-old kid,up to his grandfather.”
For the merchandise makeover,Rugby Australia partnered with RM Williams but in the UK,sporting clubs are developing their own creative teams to explore fashion ranges and collaborations.
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Designer turned consultant Kenny Annan-Jonathan was recently appointed the first creative director of an English Premier League club,signing with Crystal Palace.
It’s a move foreshadowed by streetwear brand Kith’s founder Ronnie Fieg becoming the first creative director of the New York Knicks,and Major League Soccer in the US hiring streetwear brand 424’s founder Guillermo Andrade as creative director of the Leagues Cup.
“These are all fashion guys who understand what it takes to build community through product,storytelling,through engagement and looking at new avenues and experiences,” says Annan-Jonathan.
“The products clubs are trying to sell the most is training wear,which doesn’t mean anything to fans. It works for athletes,but you are expecting to see fans on a match day wear stuff that athletes wear to training. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“The way to engage with fans is to make them feel comfortable in what they are wearing. The sales have been drying up because there’s no new offering that allows them to be who they are.”
While collaborations can mean higher prices – a Leagues Cup polyester jersey overseen by Andrade with Liberal Youth Ministry start at $239 at e-boutique Farfetch – Annan-Jonathan says clubs must also consider existing supporters.
“Just working with brands like Louis Vuitton and Supreme is only thinking about hype rather than creating an environment where fans can thrive,” Anna-Jonathan says. “It would then be no different to the way luxury fashion took over streetwear.”
“We need to make the conversation exciting without pushing out the staple audience.”