This week, we look at the rise of sports jerseys as a fashion statement and the companies like Sotheby’s that are turning them into big business.
Fashion is having a love affair with sports t-shirts.
From Taylor Swift wearing Kansas City Chiefs merchandise in honor of her NFL player boyfriend, Travis Kelce, to celebrities like Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Julia Fox wearing jerseys from their favorite teams, it’s clear that a sports shirt has become an acceptable part of the wardrobe of any fashionista.
It’s the latest crossover between the increasingly intertwined worlds of sports and fashion, following brand sponsorships of female athletes in the WNBA and brands working with entire leagues, like Rhone’s collaborations with the LPGA.
At Sotheby’s earlier this month, the storied auction house debuted its first collection of game-worn NBA jerseys. From May through September, Sotheby’s will release 75 jerseys every two weeks as part of its ongoing partnership with the NBA.
T-shirts are sold on a fixed-price model rather than a traditional auction. Brahm Wachter, senior vice president and head of modern collectibles at Sotheby’s, said this model worked best for fashion items like T-shirts and bags. Of the roughly 140 shirts released in the first release on May 8, only about 50 remain, he said.
“The pandemic has helped explode the popularity of things like sneakers and athletic t-shirts — both categories we’re targeting,” Wachter said. “The world is much more casual and people wear sneakers and t-shirts to work now.”
Wachter said Sotheby’s was inspired to start selling T-shirts more actively after selling the shirt worn by Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona during his famous “Hand of God” game for more than $9 million. This helped instigate the auction house’s current jersey partnerships with the NBA, which Wachter says will see thousands of more jerseys hitting the market throughout the year.
The focus on T-shirts has been a great way for Sotheby’s to attract a new customer. More than 50% of the T-shirt buyers were under 50 and more than 75% were new to Sotheby’s. But, according to Wachter, these buyers are not limited to purchasing sports collectibles. The same customer often buys watches or artwork along with your t-shirts.
“Our partnership with the NBA is comprehensive, so we will definitely do more with them in the future,” he said.
The NBA has quickly become one of the most fashionable sports leagues, with its players fashion icons and its teams becoming fashion companies in their own right. The league has partnered with brands including Forever 21, Louis Vuitton and Rhude. Shirts are often central components, like in the Forever 21 x NBA collection.
But outside of basketball, jerseys from other sports are also exploding. As Glossy covered last week, British marketplace Classic Football Shirts, which specializes in selling classic football shirts, has received more than $30 million in funding from The Chernin Group. Football shirts are big business around the world, with top teams like Barcelona raking in around $200 million annually in shirt sales.
Greg Betinnelli, partner at TCG and investor in successful marketplaces like ThredUp and Goat, said that while sports shirts are popular globally, there is a particularly strong market for them in the US.
“One thing I learned is that in the US people buy jerseys from a lot of different teams,” he said. He compared US customers to those in the UK, who may only want t-shirts from a specific team.
“In the US, we are fans of stars. We might have a 49ers jersey and a Bears jersey,” he said.
Executive moves
Sun Choe, Lululemon’s chief product officer, will leave the company starting this week. It was a move that worried Wall Street, causing the brand’s share price to fall 7% after the news was announced.
Meanwhile, British lifestyle media brand Dazed Media has announced Sophie McElligott as the company’s first CMO.
And Mara Hoffman is closing her brand after 24 years, citing an increasingly difficult climate for sustainable brands to continue operating. She announced the closure on Instagram.
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