This week, a look at the brands getting into golf, pickleball and tennis as luxe sports take off. Plus, the current gen AI opportunities for creators, the latest funding rounds, new executive shifts and other news to know.
In the wake of the recently released film “Challengers,” directed by Luca Guandino and starring Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, there’s been a noticeable surge in sports-inspired fashion, particularly tenniscore and golf attire.
According to the technology platform Launchmetrics, many brands got an awareness boost from being featured in the film. Loewe led the media impact value rankings with $8.8 million, followed by Louis Vuitton and Bulgari with $5.5 million and $3.7 million, respectively, each with a $1 million boost from Zendaya’s posts. Thom Browne, Vera Wang and Vivienne Westwood posted MIVs of $2.8 million, $2 million and $1.6 million, while Uniqlo, Brunello Cucinelli, Celia Kritharioti, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren rounded out the list with $435,000-$1.4 million.
The influence of the film, which was announced in February 2022, has seemingly impacted brand assortments and renewed consumer interest in racquet sports and other posh sports like golf.
Kate Spade’s current assortment includes twelve items featuring bright yellow tennis balls, tapping into the tenniscore trend. They include a $39 “Queen of the Court” tennis ring and a $209 3D tennis racquet bag. Varley’s Club Collection, priced $38-$138, also caters to the growing demand for tennis dresses — its versions feature striped trims.
For its part, Pacsun has launched collections that not only cater to tennis and pickleball enthusiasts but also resonate with a broader lifestyle off-court. According to Abbie Hutzler, divisional merchandise manager at Pacsun, “We saw an increase in consumer demand as the sports gained relevance among our demographics.”
On a similar note, the sports-luxe aesthetic — for every day, versus game day — has popularly been embraced by higher-end brands like Ralph Lauren and J. Lindeberg.
Outside of “Challengers,” other pop culture stars are helping to fuel the trend: Taylor Swift recently wore Popflex’s lilac tennis skort in a video promoting her new single “Fortnight”. The skirt sold out overnight, according to founder Cassey Ho, who filed a patent for the skort to stop Shein from copying the design.
Shoppers are searching for tennis dresses, with technology platform LTK reporting a 161% increase in Google searches for athletic dresses in the past month alone. According to the AI-powered global payments network and shopping assistant Klarna, there’s been a 1,382% increase in purchases of tennis clothing and gear since September 2022 and an 87% boost in monthly results since January 2023. Golf fashion is also riding this wave, with a 1,523% increase in golf clothing and gear sales and a 2,088% jump in monthly adult golf shoes purchases since September 2022.
“Modern golf and tennis wear are designed not only to enhance athletic performance, but to also reflect personal style and fashion preferences,” said Megan Gokey, Klarna’s head of B2C marketing and brand partnerships in North America and the U.K.
In addition to tennis, the growing popularity of pickleball led Target to launch a limited-edition, dedicated fashion collection in collaboration with racquet sports outfitter Prince on April 24. “Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, so we were inspired to create something truly unique for consumers in this space,” said a Target spokesperson.
And for golf, it’s much the same. “There are opportunities for fashion brands to get into sports collections as the preferred style becomes more casual and sporty,” said Kristof Risse, chief commercial officer at skiwear brand Bogner, which launched a golf collection in December. “This trend especially applies to golf apparel brands as there is a strong crossover appeal between customers who play the sport and those who like the look and fashion.”
Sports and fashion intersecting is nothing new — it’s set to be a dominant theme at the Olympics, just as it’s been in sporting events including Wimbledon. According to a Wimbledon spokesperson, the tournament’s collection keeps selling out every year as the assortment grows to bring in more transitional tennis pieces.
Research: How is generative AI affecting creators
According to a report released this week by creative agency Billion Dollar Boy, generative AI is helping creators develop their content strategies and grow their followings. I spoke to Becky Owen, Global CMO at BDB and former head of creator innovations at Meta, about the report’s findings about creators and marketing. The top takeaways from the conversation, in Owen’s words, are below.
- “Ninety-two percent of creators said they’re using AI and they see that it alleviates workload. It’s enabling them to increase the quality of their content when they use AI, and it’s increasing engagement”. The creators are using AI to create image captions and edit videos.
- “Eighty-two percent are saying that it’s accelerating their creation process.” They’re using it across their business, from contract negotiation to content creation.
- “Seventy percent of marketers plan to increase use of gen AI [for content creation], moving spend from email marketing to generative AI.”
- “Brand content that uses gen AI is creating much more disruption in feed.”
- “The results we’re getting [for gen AI–aided product ads] were through the roof, specifically when they were posted on a brand’s channel. They were outperforming all of their traditional metrics.”
New funding
- Carbonfact, a platform that automates data collection and reporting for the fashion industry’s carbon footprint, announced a $15 million Series A funding round on April 30. The company is responding to new regulations like the E.U.’s C.S.D.D.D. and the upcoming New York Fashion Act by enhancing its system to alleviate the manual verification and consolidation challenges across supply chains. The round was led by Alven with Headline joining as a new investor and board member. The company has seen increased demand, onboarding over 150 apparel and footwear brands including Columbia and New Balance since last year.
- FindMine, an AI-driven styling platform and part of LVMH’s La Maison de Startups, has successfully closed a Series A funding round of $8.9 million, bringing its total funding to $17.6 million. The round, led by Grayhawk Ventures, included investors such as Frazier Capital, PJC, Sarah Wallis and Vikas Gupta. The company’s earlier investors included Adidas Ventures, XRC Labs, RevTech Equity for Women Fund and Amplifyher Ventures.
Executive shifts
- ThredUp, a major online resale platform for apparel, shoes and accessories, has appointed Florin Filote as its new gm of Europe, overseeing operations across nine Central and Eastern European countries. Filote, who brings nearly two decades of experience in retail and e-commerce, replaces Dan DeMeyere, who is transitioning to the role of chief product and technology officer focused on scaling technology and AI innovation within the U.S. business.
- Sandra Stangl, president and CEO of Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic division, is leaving the company, and a search for her successor is in progress. For the fourth quarter of 2023, Banana Republic reported a 2% year-over-year decline in net sales to $567 million, and its full-year net sales were $1.9 billion, marking an 8% decrease from 2023. The results indicated the company’s ongoing challenges in reestablishing its aesthetics and fundamentals.
- Jeffrey Kalinsky, chief creative officer and chief merchant at Theory, has resigned after two-and-a-half years in the role. Additionally, several other executives, including Lucas Ossendrijver, designer of Theory Project; Tiffany Wang, svp of global merchandising; and Jacob Brown, head of brand content; also left the company last week.
Inside Glossy’s coverage
- Levi’s is testing a low-risk, high-reward marketing strategy, which informed its response to the new Beyonce album.
- Urban Outfitters is digging into vintage fashion to grow its assortment.
Other news to know
- Tiger Woods is launching a fashion and golf brand.
- TikTok Shop has half a million sellers in the U.S., even amid the platform’s looming ban.
