Sportswear brands like Adidas and Puma are seeking to take advantage of a flirtation with soccer by the fashion world to reach a new customer base, building in part on demand created by this summer's successful Women's World Cup. With celebrities like Kim Kardashian seen attending matches and wearing soccer jerseys, clubs too spy new merchandising opportunities. One Premiership team has hired a creative director to expand its apparel offering, while Adidas in September launched an "exclusively off-pitch" apparel collection for some of the big-name teams it sponsors.
Never mind the scoreline, check out the merch. Following an American takeover and an ultra-slick redesign by a hip German brand consultancy, second-division Italian club Venezia FC have become a social media sensation. With shirts this sexy, does it matter if they never win again?