A clip of a fan rushing the pitch to hug Messi went viral on Chinese social channels. When the reigning FIFA World Cup champion Lionel Messi visited China earlier this year for a friendly match against Australia, he inspired such “ Messi Mania ” that he and his teammates were unable to leave their Beijing hotel. Those players now command the global celebrity once reserved for film or music stars. But with luxury brands and athletes, it’s about what they wear outside of the game.” “Adidas and Nike’s relationship with athletes is traditionally just a shoe deal, what they wear on the court or field during games. “The players have to be fans of the brand, and usually are customers long before the partnership is formed,” says Robert Burke, founder of New York-based consulting firm Robert Burke Associates. While athletes are typically bought and sold for their skills on the court, they are also becoming powerful influencers that can boost a team’s prestige and fashion credentials. And earlier this month, London-based football club Crystal Palace hired sports marketing veteran Kenny Annan-Jonathan as creative director, making it the first team in the Premier League to name such a position. In April of this year, Major League Soccer tapped streetwear designer Guillermo Andrade as creative advisor. collaboration in 2022, including a $575 basketball in the brand’s signature blue. In 2020, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired artist Daniel Arsham as the franchise’s first creative director. They were more like television networks, just trying to reach as many eyeballs as possible.” They weren’t that sophisticated as marketers before. “The leagues are treating themselves as luxury brands that are marketed with sophistication. “They weren’t that sophisticated as marketers before. “The leagues are treating themselves as luxury brands that are marketed with sophistication,” says Brown. Part of what has made sports teams or organizations more compatible with luxury fashion is the evolution of sports teams into global brands unto themselves. “ know it goes beyond where they can reach on their own.” “It’s the level of intensity and the level of pride, that’s why they want to be associated with those events,” says Thomas Serrano, founder of luxury events planner Exclamation Group, about the appeal of a World Cup or Olympic-level sporting event. And leading up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, currently being contested in Australia and New Zealand, British designer Martine Rose outfitted the US women’s team in custom suits in collaboration with Nike.Ī post shared by Nike into those sporting events and teams can allow luxury fashion brands to connect with consumers on a level that clothing and watches can only dream of reaching. That same week, beauty giant Estée Lauder signed a deal with Manchester United to reach the soccer club’s Chinese fanbase. Last month, luxury conglomerate LVMH announced a partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Luxury fashion brands and the biggest sports organizations such as the NBA and the English Premier League are finding themselves to be mutually beneficial partners in boosting each other’s brands and connecting with consumers on a global scale. It’s no longer just Rolex sponsoring Wimbledon or Adidas sponsoring soccer players. And those paths to desirability are changing.
“Luxury and even broader-than-luxury premium brands have always been about creating desirability,” Brown adds. While luxury brands have long since partnered with more exclusive sports like tennis and polo, they’re now turning to sports with more mass appeal like basketball, American football and soccer, which were previously the playing fields of performance or sportswear brands. James Harden was seen arriving at the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals wearing pieces from the adidas x Gucci collection.
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