Sportswear companies like Adidas and Puma are hoping to capitalise on the fashion industry’s recent fascination with football to expand their clientele, partly due to the demand generated by the successful Women’s World Cup this past summer.
Football clubs are also keeping an eye out for fresh marketing opportunities as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian have been spotted at matches and sporting soccer jerseys. Adidas debuted an ‘exclusively off-pitch’ clothing line for a few of the major clubs it sponsors in September, and one Premiership team has employed a design director to increase the range of clothing it offers.
The Women’s World Cup demonstrated the enormous unmet demand for women’s soccer-related merchandise: supporters retaliated against Nike for failing to provide duplicate uniforms for England’s Mary Earps and other competing goalkeepers.
Streetwear and pop culture have long been linked to Adidas and Puma. However, according to GlobalData research released this month, the German corporations each spend two-thirds of their annual sponsorship budgets on football, so football’s fashionable turn may prove profitable.
According to GlobalData, football makes up 48 per cent of Nike’s yearly sponsorship budget, the company also heavily spends in basketball and collegiate athletics.
“We are experiencing hype around football jerseys and general designs influenced by football culture across streetwear and fashion,” said Puma’s global creative director Heiko Desens.
When Adidas’ clothing line for Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Manchester United and Real Madrid was introduced in September, it featured dresses and crop tops with more subdued club logos.
