CASE STUDY 003: Fashion’s Move on Medals, Memories, and Momentos

What makes your favorite kit, your team’s dad hat, the shirt you bought after running that marathon so special? 

Our medals, memories, and memorabilia have become dynamic and engaging fashion choices. Perhaps it's the sense of belonging the piece eschews. Perhaps it's the memory of the occasion? Maybe it’s the feeling of triumph or defeat it calls upon? There has to be something about the colors as well - your team’s blue, or black, or green, or whatever, must mean more than just any Pantone in a Sherman Williams Catalog. 

Do you walk with your head held a little higher when wearing that piece from your favorite team? Do you run a little faster in that race shirt you are proud to have earned? Do you play with a little more flare and confidence donning that kit you bought at the match you recently went to? 

Sporting institutions and the brand world are only in the beginning stages of capitalizing on the sentimentality and the premium on love for our sporting momentos. Major League Soccer has partnered with LB Football to spice up its fan gear offerings outside the traditional Adidas lineup. Bandit Running creates beautiful capsules around major marathons - often selling out within 24 hours. Even the likes of Chanel have entered their first sports partnership, sponsoring the famous Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race with their J12 watch series.

At its best, fashion integrated into our sporting communities yields a style that tells a wearable story about a people, a neighborhood, a game, an experience. It is the visual expression of play - a central component of life in every known society on earth. These garments are aesthetically engineered to mean more. The pieces make us feel more. As the saying goes, “Look good, feel good, play good.”

What are the brands, the teams, and the communities that are producing fashion that meets that standard for you?