Male athletes from a variety of sports have expanded their personal brands into the high-end underwear category. Athletes’ signature lines are attractive for companies in this sector, since they add credibility through their endorsement of the product’s performance characteristics or comfort, especially during active situations. And athletes’ toned bodies are good imagery for underwear advertising, if they are willing.
Unlike athletes who lend their names to men’s suits, where direct-to-retail deals are common, recent agreements in this category tend to take forms that are not strictly licensing, such as signature collaborations within an endorsement deal or the athletes taking on a management and/or investment position. The product range often includes sleepwear and loungewear, and sometimes other items, in addition to the core underwear.
Late last year, Dwyane Wade of the NBA’s Miami Heat designed a collection of men’s undershirts, briefs, and boxers, as well as sleepwear and loungewear, sold through Nordstrom and other selected stores, through a partnership with Naked Brand Group. The Wade x Naked collection was the company’s first celebrity tie-in, and the basketball star joined the advisory board of the company.
Former New York Yankee Derek Jeter went the ownership route, making an investment in RevolutionWear’s Frigo line, whose other investors and brand ambassadors included rapper 50 Cent and a range of athletes. But the relationship fell apart over marketing disagreements, ending up in a lawsuit between the baseball player and the underwear firm.
New York Rangers hockey goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been working with bodywear brand Bread & Boxers since 2014, creating ongoing seasonal collections and limited editions, distributed by United Legwear in North America. Lundqvist also appears in advertising and on the packaging of some non-signature items dubbed “Henrik’s Favorites.”
The connection between athletes and men’s underwear is intensifying as sports celebrities look to extend their personal brands into product categories that make sense. And business models are changing. But the pairing of athletes and underwear is certainly not a new strategy.
World Brand Management licensed the name of retired tennis star Björn Borg back in 1997 for a line of underwear. The company has since changed its name to Björn Borg AB, expanded into a range of men’s and women’s apparel and accessories—although the underwear remains the core product—and assumed ownership of the trademark for the apparel category in 2006. This month, the label debuted a collaboration with an outside designer, U.K.-based Craig Green, for a 20-item capsule collection that will hit retail later this year.
And one of the most famous examples of athlete-branded underwear, albeit not on the high end of the retail spectrum, is Beckham Bodywear for H&M, a DTR licensing deal that launched in 2012 and is in 1,800 stores in 40 countries. The line, tied to retired British football star David Beckham, has since expanded into menswear as well.
One additional observation: Many of these deals have a connection to Sweden. Frigo, Bread & Boxers, H&M, and the company Björn Borg are all headquartered in Sweden, while Lundqvist and Bjorg the athlete hail from that country as well.
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