Fashion and apparel brands are no newcomers to the esports and live streaming scenes. These multi-billion dollar companies often utilise esports as a gateway to connecting with young potential customers, and reach millions of worldwide fans. The global nature of esports makes sponsoring events, teams, or otherwise engaging with the industry, an easy decision for many brands.
While some apparel brands are just beginning to dip their toes into the esports scene, others have been heavily involved for years already. Through this piece we will explore not only apparel brands in esports and gaming, but also footwear and luxury fashion brands.
Apparel Brands in Esports and Live Streaming
Adidas
Adidas is one of esports’ most well-known brands; the German apparel and fashion company has been heavily involved with esports teams and players for many years, sponsoring some of the world’s leading teams across various games. In 2017, Adidas joined forces with Team Vitality and quickly expanded to signing with North through 2019 as an exclusive apparel provider. The following year, Adidas doubled down. In 2019, they signed deals with both Team Heretics and Grow uP eSports, but they were still only getting started.
In 2021, they signed a two-year deal with G2 Esports, manufacturing the team’s jerseys and with the apparel logo appearing prominently. Björn Jäger, VP of adidas Central Europe, spoke on the deal with G2 Esports: “we are very proud of the new partnership with G2 Esports, one of the leading entertainment organisations in the gaming industry”. Adidas understands that esports is not about gaming necessarily for sponsors, but rather an entertainment show that millions of fans across the world are heavily invested in, no different to other traditional sports.
In recent years, adidas partnered with Gamers8 in 2023, which received over 20.6M Hours Watched in total for one Summer gaming festival. They also just recently announced a collaboration with 100 Thieves, launching a merchandise line. The company even has a dedicated esports tab on their website, where users can find 100 Thieves-branded merchandise, and more. Adidas’ approach to esports has been direct and commanding, and their years of continued efforts into interacting with the industry must mean they are enjoying a profitable return on investment.
Nike
Adidas is not the only world-leading apparel brand to jump on the esports train; Nike sponsored China’s regional League of Legends circuit in 2019: the LPL. The company also brought out various products in collaboration with the LPL, and continued their support of the year for multiple years. The brand supplied clothes and shoes for all of the teams which make up the LPL, and signed Uzi, a fan favourite player from the region.
In 2020, Nike signed a four-year apparel partnership with one of the world’s most popular esports teams, T1. T1 recently set an esports viewership record with 6.4M viewers at last year’s Worlds 2023, and their lower bracket final match at the Mid-Season invitational 2024 reached 2.83M PV, a new record for the event series. The high viewership of the organization’s League of Legends team makes them extremely attractive for sponsorships.
The esports organization also announced they would be working with Nike to open a brand-new training facility for their staff and players. Although the deal was conceived as an exclusive apparel partnership, this was updated in 2023 when T1 brought Goal Studio on board with a three-year deal as an additional apparel partner. Nike remains the team’s official footwear and fitness partner, but no longer has the same presence as T1’s only apparel partner.
More recently, NIke collaborated with FaZe Clan in 2023 to present an exclusive shoe. The Nike x FaZe Clan colourway Lebron Nxxt Gen was designed collaboratively with FaZe Clan’s creative staff, and was debuted by LeBron James’ son Bronny James.
Puma
Also in the sportswear side of the industry, Puma has been hard at work throughout the esports industry. Not only has Puma worked with names such as Gen.G and MOUZ, but they have continued to sign and finalize more and more partnerships every year. The brand is most well-known within esports for their current partnership with NAVI, Ukraine’s most popular esports organization. The two companies have created many collaborative products, and the Puma logo features heavily on their jerseys.
The German brand has been busy across the globe, signing deals with Irish organization WYLDE Esports, which is backed by Usian Bolt, as well as Indian esports team Orangutan Esports and Spanish esports club DUX, which is owned by content creator DjMaRiiO and footballers Thibaut Courtois and Borja Iglesias. Although relatively new to the esports industry compared to some other brands, Puma has made up for this deficit by rapidly expanding their reach through the esports industry on a yearly basis.
Hummel
Hummel, a Danish sports apparel retailer, entered the esports industry a handful of years ago, coming into the average gamer’s awareness through their partnership with the Astralis Group. Last year, the company kicked their presence into overdrive; Hummel signed two three-year deals with both Guild Esports, which is co-owned by David Beckham, and Team Vitality. While Team Vitality was previously a team heavily associated with Adidas, Hummel are proving that there is competition in the industry for partnerships with established esports organizations.
H&M
H&M was exposed to most esports fans during Dota 2’s The Bali Major 2023. The worldwide clothing outlet was tapped to provide clothing for on-screen talent during the event, and a giveaway for VIP tickets as another form of activation. The tournament reached a peak of 475K concurrent viewers, but many more individual viewers were surely exposed to H&M’s clothing throughout the event. Although their most significant foray into esports, it was not H&M’s first. In 2021, H&M became a premium partner of the Virtual Bundesliga, whose Virtual Bundesliga 2021 Grand Final reached 35K Peak Viewers.
Under Armour
Fitness performance apparel brand Under Armour partnered with the esports organization Team SMG in 2020 with a one-year deal. All of Team SMG’s players wore apparel manufactured by Under Armour, exposing the American company to a brand-new Asian, specifically Singaporean, audience. The organization was also home to a Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team, making Under Armour one of the few apparel brands to invest in the mobile gaming side of the esports industry.
JD Sports
On the other side of the globe, EXCEL Esports partnered with compatriot British sports apparel retailer JD Sports. Their logo featured heavily on Excel Esports’ jerseys, and secured exclusive naming rights to their academy League of Legends roster, becoming team JDXL. Executive Chairman of JD Sports, Peter Cowgill, explained “through this partnership, JD SPORTS will embrace casual and competitive e-gaming audiences across some of the biggest global gaming titles”.
Uniqlo
Uniqlo, one of Japan’s most beloved casual wear apparel retailers, also partnered with League of Legends in 2021. The company brought out six unique designs inspired by League of Legends, including their virtual pop group K/DA. The line is part of Uniqlo’s UT collection, which celebrates art, music, design, and all aspects of popular culture.
Champion, FILA, Kappa
Similar to Under Armour, both Champion and FILA signed one-year deals with esports organizations. Kappa, on the other hand, has enjoyed a much more thorough expansion into esports. The company entered the industry in 2019 with Vexed Gaming, and has since gone on to partner with MAD Lions, London Esports, Tundra, and many many more.
Luxury Fashion Brands in Esports and Live Streaming
Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Gucci
In League of Legends, Riot Games partnered with jeweler Tiffany & Co. in 2022 to redesign the League of Legends World Championship trophy: the Summoner’s Cup. The multi-year deal between the two was not the first time they have collaborated: in 2021, Tiffany & Co. redesigned the trophy for the LPL. Previously, Riot Games also worked with Louis Vuitton to create a case for their trophies as well as skins for in-game characters. Appearances are important in the entertainment industry, and Riot Games have often collaborated with world-leading fashion companies to put their best foot forward on screen.
In terms of the higher-end and more exclusive fashion brands, Gucci partnered with Fnatic in 2020 to enter the esports scene. Gucci created 100 exclusive watches inspired by Fnatic’s League of Legends team, which cost roughly €1,350 a piece. The Italian fashion company had previously teased a collaboration by inviting Fnatic to the front row of the Milan Fashion Show, piquing interest as to what was coming.
In 2022, Gucci more directly entered the esports scene by partnering with the ESL Faceit Group to launch the Gucci Gaming Academy. The gaming company turned to Gucci to support gamers on their path to reaching professional play, and Gucci was happy to accept the offer of a partnership. The academy offered both in-game training and support for the players, with a focus on mental health and keeping the academy players all-round healthy.
Burberry
High fashion brand Burberry also entered esports by partnering with
Gen.G. Rather than the traditional route of a collaborative product or having their logo featured on jerseys, Burberry preferred to create a content series focusing on inclusivity and women in gaming with Gen.G. The four-part series was hosted by content creator Emily Ghoul, and was part of Burberry’s plan to “support the next generation of women within gaming to go beyond”, according to Global VP of Channel Innovation at Burberry, Rachel Waller.
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren also got a piece of the action in 2023, joining forces with G2 Esports to launch a collaborative apparel collection. This was not the first time G2 Esports worked with Ralph Lauren, as they first partnered together in 2021, but the jointly-branded apparel launch was the fashion brand’s most significant step into the industry.
Armani Exchange
Armani Exchange partnered with Italian esports organization Mkers 5 years ago in 2019. The company had its logo displayed front and center of the team’s jersey. More recently, Dolce & Gabbana joined Mkers to create gooDGame, a content series featuring several esports organizations such as MIBR, Scarz, and DarkZero Esports. As one of Italy’s leading esports organizations, Mkers has enjoyed serious attention from Italian sponsors looking to enter a new industry.
Dior
Dior made their step into the gaming industry in late 2022, but rather than joining an esports organization the company decided to focus their attention on video games themselves. Dior’s artistic director for menswear designed some in-game liveries for Gran Turismo 7, bringing the company’s brand into the awareness of many racing game fans, as well as showing off some of their unique style.
Bulgari
Just last year, Bulgari announced a new partnership with the MOBA Honor of Kings. The game built up a large following in China, before turning international in recent times. The fashion company created special collaborative skins for the title, exposing their brand to hundreds of millions of Chinese fans, as well as a sizable international audience, too.
Footwear Brands in Esports and Live Streaming
Clarks
Although footwear brands are not as glamorous as luxury high-end fashion companies, they still have made a sizable impact on the esports industry. British shoe manufacturer Clarks has been making steps into the modern world in recent years, previously collaborating with Roblox as well as online content creators. Last year, they decided to take their first leap into the esports scene with LNG Esports.
Clarks became one of LNG’s partners for the LPL season, although the deal did not encompass exclusive apparel for the team. The deal came at a perfect time, as LNG Esports experienced proper competitive success in 2023, finishing 2nd in the LPL Summer 2023, winning the LPL Regional Finals 2023, and finishing in tied 3rd at Worlds 2023.
While the players are not required to wear Clarks-branded products, the Clarks logo does feature on the teams’ jerseys. Although not an exclusive main partnership, it still shows there is room for more apparel brands in the esports scene.
K-Swiss
Before Clarks entered the scene, K-Swiss was collaborating with Immortals more than 6 years ago. The two companies worked together to create possibly the world’s first esports shoe. The Immortals Icon running shoe was the first to come, later followed by the MIBR ONE-TAP; MIBR is a brand owned by Immortals. These shoes featured the branding of the respective esports clubs, and gave fans a new product to support their favourite team through.
Skechers
In 2020, the parent company of Honor of Kings esports team Hero announced that they had signed Skechers as their apparel partner for the season. The company supplied both exclusive apparel and the team jersey for Hero, as well as offering Hero-branded products for Chinese fans. The company not only used esports to advertise its shoes, but reversely, used its shoes to advertise Hero.
New Balance
In late 2018, New Balance signed a deal to become the presenting partner of F1 Sim Racing, known as F1 Esports Series, at the time. The deal saw New Balance enjoy several activations across the live stream broadcasts of events, and drivers would be required to wear New Balance apparel when competing. Eventually, F1 Sim Racing would find itself in trouble as competitors rebelled against the strict rules for them to exclusively use equipment of the series’ sponsors, even outside of competition. It seems that New Balance got in and out of F1 Sim Racing at just the right time.
Crocs
Crocs have become entrenched in both online culture and esports in past years. The company was the official footwear sponsor of the 2022 Esports Awards, and they only continued to expand their presence through partnerships with teams. In late 2023, the company joined forces with Gen.G to create a special Fortnite activation for fans.
Not all news about crocs in esports has been positive, though. Last year, ESL updated their ESL Pro Tour rulebook, which included banning crocs. The organizers considered crocs to be open-toed shoes, and unfit for competition: players found to break this rule would face a fine or even expulsion until they change shoes. During the LCS Spring 2024, 100 Thieves’ player Sniper was fined $5,000 for wearing crocs. Crocs decided to turn this around, stepping up to announce a new partnership with 100 Thieves, making the best of the press.
Apparel, fashion, and footwear companies are some of the most profitable companies in the world. Many of these are putting their money to good use, supporting the esports scene and reaching a young demographic through on-stream activations. Many more apparel companies will surely follow suit as the industry continues to grow, and the opportunities for sponsors only become more lucrative.
