The NFL has been a league of trendy gamers touting comfort-casual clothes from numerous attire companions… till in the present day.
The Nationwide Soccer League simply introduced a multiyear deal naming Abercrombie & Fitch as its first Official NFL Trend Accomplice. Whereas Abecrombie has produced NFL-licenced merchandise since 2022—leaning closely into daring, colourful, ‘90s-influenced classic design—the brand new partnership goes a number of steps past by bringing within the league’s gamers to guide campaigns and create their very own attire.
The league has counted labels and designers, together with Born x Raised, Veronica Beard, Kith, AAPE, Tyler the Creator’s Golf Wang, Drake’s OVO, Kristin Juszczyk and Emma Grede’s Off Season, Roc Nation, and Cactus Jack, amongst its latest collaborators. However the NFL hadn’t named one an official accomplice till this level and, following response to Juszczyk’s now-iconic puffer jacket for Taylor Swift, has said that it sees the intersection of trend and sports activities as important to its efforts to develop its fanbase—particularly amongst ladies, who at the moment comprise greater than 47% of NFL followers.
“We’re uniquely positioned for this second the place sports activities, trend, and tradition are converging like by no means earlier than,” mentioned Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Fran Horowitz. “This NFL partnership goes past licensing. It’s about assembly the wants of an increasing viewers. Collectively, the NFL and Abercrombie are serving to to construct fandom via trend.”
For the NFL’s partnership with Abercrombie to work as meant, it has to transcend group logos and nostalgic patterns and turn into an extension of the league’s tradition. The NFL took its first step in that route in October, when it promoted trend content material strategist Kyle Smith to the league’s first trend editor and introduced it to the world in Vogue.
His affect is obvious in one of many partnership’s first initiatives, Abercrombie Model Concierge, which offers curated outfits for sure NFL athletes and entry to Abercrombie styling specialists. Amongst these receiving the earliest entry to this system are gamers starring in Abercrombie’s nationwide marketing campaign touting the partnership, together with Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers), Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions), CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys), and Tee Higgins (Cincinnati Bengals).
Different preliminary “Model Concierge” gamers embrace Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers), Drake Maye (New England Patriots), Cooper DeJean (Philadelphia Eagles), and Jake Ferguson (Dallas Cowboys).
“Model has at all times been part of the NFL’s DNA, from the historical past of the sport to gamers’ gameday outfits,” the NFL’s Smith mentioned. “Partnering with Abercrombie & Fitch lets us honor that legacy whereas introducing a brand new era of followers to seems which are well timed, versatile, and related to the tradition of NFL soccer.”
Abercrombie claims its NFL marketing campaign is its largest sports activities advertising funding ever. It is going to run all through the USA on linear, CTV, HBO Max, Meta, TikTok, and NFL-owned media. Moreover, every style-concierge participant has partnered with Abercrombie on limited-edition co-designed attire that might be out there this NFL season.
Abercrombie may also characteristic at NFL tentpole occasions, together with some NFL worldwide matchups, with new NFL objects out there at its greater than 200 retail places worldwide.
“Because the NFL continues to evolve, we glance to accomplice with manufacturers that share our strategic imaginative and prescient,” mentioned Tracie Rodburg, NFL svp of worldwide partnerships. “Naming Abercrombie & Fitch as an official sponsor, we are able to reinforce our place as a rising chief within the trend neighborhood, create deeper connections with our followers on the convergence of fandom and trend, and have a good time our gamers’ dynamic type.”
