Kith X Team USA Collaboration
Daniel J. Mahon
Fashion Writer
Apparel brand Kith has collaborated with team USA for new gear as part of the Beijing Winter Olympics that recently began. Ronnie Fieg’s brand has paired with team USA for a lifestyle collection for people to be able to wear in support of the country. It even includes a new, original team USA logo exclusive to this partnership. It includes 27 pieces, with well-known Kith products such as the Midi Puffer Jacket and Quilted Track Jacket. It also brings along accessories like socks, bucket hats, snowboards, water bottles, and beanies. Kith joins other brands such as Columbia, Lululemon, and Ralph Lauren to collaborate with the US Olympic team.
This collection was originally planned for the 2020 Summer Olympics, but the delay due to COVID and other factors pushed it back. The wait is over though, as it launched late January and features a wide variety of items for people to choose, hoping for people to support the United States in this Olympics by rocking the latest Kith gear. It gives those who may not be as interested in the Olympics to at least have a sort of pride for their country by wearing these new designs and using the newest products. During its summer campaign with Team USA, Kith had different Olympic athletes model their products in a countdown up to the release date, such as members of the 1992 Dream Team Clyde Drexler and Chris Mullin.
This time around, Kith went with rapper Dave East to model their winter line, with a freestyle video to go along with it as well. This is beneficial because people who listen to his music will be intrigued to watch the new video, while also being attracted to the new designs brought out by Kith. Even for those that can not afford the usual expensive clothing that Kith brings out, there are other cheaper accessories that those can purchase, such as the canteen, sunglasses, and luggage tag. The wide variety of items makes this collaboration accessible and allows those that are huge fans of the Olympics to venture into new brands and try out new clothing items. The ones who have great pride in their country may buy many products or at least a few no matter how much the cost is, just because they love the United States so much and want to be able to root for them in new ways. And on the other side, there are those who may not have the same pride or interest in the Olympic team, but because of their love for the Kith brand, they may still look to see what the new products are about.
This collaboration brings two sides together and allows for Kith to make money while also helping bring attention to the US Olympic team. It may seem like an out-of-place collaboration at first, but if you look into some of the products you will find very well-designed, nice-looking products for those to use. Kith even went as far as to collaborate with Capita to design a snowboard for the set, which shows that there is a dedication to making products for the right audience. This collaboration is a great way to attract an audience to both Kith and the US Olympic team.
Contact Daniel at daniel.mahon@student.shu.edu