Football & Fashion

Football & Fashion

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FUN FACT:

The average 2019 NFL regular season broadcast was watched by nearly 17 million Americans

U O Y E R A F E M SO I didn’t always like Football,

in fact I actually hated it. But at some point something clicked, and I got hooked. Now I can’t imagine what my life would look like without football. I have not only been very involved in the sport through participation and spectation, but it has heavily influenced my work and career aspirations.

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R O F Y D A RE ?

L L A B T O O F 2

Futbol or Football ?

When I first moved to the United States from Ghana, soccer was my only sport. In Ghana and many other countries across the world soccer is truly the only sport of importance.

But in America there are a wide variety of sports and none more popular than American Football. It has usurped Baseball, and has become Americas Past Time.

I played recreational and travel soccer

starting from a young age. I enjoyed having a sport to play and the friendships that I developed through the sport.

Sports are the

#1 Priority 3

At some point during third grade,

And here’s

I recall going to a restaurant and seeing the Vikings battling the Bengals. And for whatever reason my eyes were glued to the screen and I suddenly became fascinated with this sport that I was so unfamiliar with. From that moment on football became my favorite and I became obsessed.

Hero Worship

America worships athletes as heroes to an absurd extent, a sad truth on a number of levels. Not only is it a gross injustice, but this is part of the way America denies itself the ability to take proper advantage of all the minds working as scientists, humanitarians, artists, and engineers. Instead, the U.S. is prioritizing sporting events and giving way too much credit to those who play them. Ask yourself what sports players contribute to society besides simple entertainment, and you will be hard pressed to come up with much.

The high value of America’s sports industries

The huge salaries of professional athletes are, unfortunately, the fault of countless fans who are willing to put their lives on hold and pour large amounts of money into tickets, Pay-Per-View rentals, sports memorabilia, gear, and other team-related merchandise.

America’s sports industry is worth a whopping $422 billion, employing 1 percent of the population with almost 3 million sports-related jobs.

And that does not include the salaries of professional athletes..

On a scale of 1-10, how much of a priority are sports for you?

why An emphasis on winning

The act of winning equates to a successful and admirable person — and that’s what youth are taught to believe, as well. The giant salaries of professional athletes and the emphasis given to sports in school and our booming sports industry all have a hidden undertone: Winning is more important than anything, and winners make the most money and have the most worth.

Indiscretions go unnoticed, lives are enriched with money, and everything is generally better for those who know how to win.

Excessivemy media coverage I played first year

It’s not uncommon multiple of football in thefor 8th grade reporters to show up at “big” school after begging my parents games. Super Bowl commercial to let me play for 5 years. spots are the most expensive adverIt was truly a joy for me tisements of the year, and football to put a helmet on daily season sees games absolutely every fall season play dominating televisionand networks.

The thepriority sportisthat I had fallen not educational shows in love with.teaching I oftenimportant dreamt or programs but sports. thatvalues, I would actually make it in the world of football but I definitely had another calling.

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Go Birds 5

When I was younger I often dreamt about putting on an Eagles jersey someday. And now with my recently developed Photoshop skills, I can truly visualize it.

I am a DIE HARD Eagles fan.

They are the only sports team that I truly am invested in and care about.

This is due to growing up outside of Philly and the fact that I started watching when the team had some electrifying players like DeSean Jackson and Lesean McCoy. Players have come and gone, and I have had to say goodbye to some of my favorite players, people that I basically looked at as heroes.

But at the end of the day, it’s still “GO BIRDS!”

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My path as an artist

started with football.

Before transitioning to digital art in high school I was purely a traditional artist, working with graphite pencil and colored pencil.

At the time that I got

into drawing I was also beginning my obsession with the game of football. From 3rd grade to 8th grade I amassed a total of more than 300 sketches and drawings of NFL players. The first 100 or so reside on my bedroom wall at home in cutout form and the rest of them are in a binder.

Then in 9th grade

when I began to work digitally, most of the subject matter that I experimented with was football related. Some of my first digital illustrations are NFL players, some of which I am not even the biggest fan of. But I just loved to render NFL players through vector form and create cool images.

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Recently, I have been

able to grow my art account by making NFL Player wallpapers on Tik Tok. The success of my football illustrations has caused me to focus on football related art content.

Football has become a useful tool for me to appeal to a large audience.

Football Through Art 8

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“We often come across the term “street style” nowadays.

It became quite popular in the past few years, but what does it really mean and when did it become a thing?”

Suburbanization, mass marketing, the franchising of restaurant and retail chains, the spread of television and not to mention, social media, may have increased the appeal of “alternative” lifestyles for individuals in search of “authenticity.”

Combining different styles, like elegance and sport at the same time, became an attractive tool for representing yourself.

My previous observations about streetwear, now backed up by research, confirm that authencity and pursuit of the alternative are key ingredients to the essence of streetwear. With the shift in our culture towards the mantra “I want it my way”, clothing that actively preaches that message becomes very attractive and desired.

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What is

STREET WEAR?

By deFinition, street style is a specific fashion style originating from the British fashion culture.

It is a comprehensive approach to fashion and includes styles which intersect, differ from mainstream fashion considerations and are based on individualism and not strictly focusing on current fashion trends.

We all know that, through clothes and accessories, individuals can make a statement and show a little bit of their inner persona.

Street style helps individuals demonstrate their multiple identities, in addition to utilizing subcultural and intersecting styles or trends.

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WHEN DID STREETWEAR START AS A FASHION TREND?

HIROSHI FUJIWARA

Streetwear as we know it now began in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Origi “IF YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THE ORIGINS, THEN I THINK WHAT WE CALL STREET FASHION NOW HAS NATURALLY FLOWED ON FROM SKATEBOARDING; BUT THE CURRENT REALITY IS DIFFERENT. IT FEELS LIKE SNEAKER CULTURE NOW; SNEAKERS AND HIP-HOP CULTURE HAVE BECOME THE STREET CULTURE.”

streetw 13

In the United States, the modern streetwear movement can be traced back to California’s surf and skate culture. In the 80s and 90s, the cool thing to do was deck your board out with cool stickers. Pretty soon boarders weren’t just putting logos on their decks, they were wearing them too. Enter MTV and the trend explodes.

WHO STARTED STREETWEAR?

there are a few key players recognized as pioneers of the streetwear industry we know today:

in of

Shawn Stussy, founder of California surf brand Stussy James Jebbia, founder of skate brand Supreme Dapper Dan, a Harlem-based designer who created luxury streetwear for hip-hop artists and influential people of color

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Streetwear flips the traditional fashion model on its head.

In the past, designers and trend forecasters dictated what trends made it to the runway, buyers determined what styles made it in-store, and magazine editors told consumers what they should and shouldn’t buy during the upcoming season. But now, through streetwear’s predominantly direct-to-consumer model, it’s the consumers themselves who are driving trends.

Streetwear didn’t just disrupt fashion, it democratized it. Today’s digital world means that street style from high-status individuals like influencers, celebrities, and musicians have a huge influence on what we find fashionable. Social media allows anyone to become an influencer or start their own clothing label. In streetwear, it’s the millions of users liking, sharing and retweeting that determine what the next trend is instead of the fashion elite.

the pow the hyp

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Many streetwear brands sell exclusively through their own websites instead of through traditional retail channels. They also use single product drops (sneakerhead jargon for a product release) instead of following a traditional runway calendar. By releasing a limited quantity at a set time, brands can increase hype beforehand, ensure scarcity, and create high resale value after the product sells out.

Some product drops require potential customers to enter a lottery just to shop for the product.

Luxury streetwear highlights the complex role fashion plays in our consumer culture. The logo on your chest or the sneakers on your feet represents more than the brand behind them. Slap a designer label on an item and it’s a sign of status and exclusivity.

These expensive labels are symbols of social status that reflect your income level and personal values.

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Build your brand 1

Understand what the best streetwear brands do well.

And that is: provide luxury. This completely changes your approach to developing your brand. This isn’t a regular brand that focuses on function, quality, and value. Luxury brands focus on status, exclusivity, and scarcity. You have to go all in on building these traits from the beginning if you want to create a successful streetwear brand.

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3 Create your name coming up with a name is not about being clever or creative. First, look at the competitors in your differentiator and brainstorm a

Differentiate your streetwear brand With thousands of streetwear brands out there why should someone choose yours? Don’t let a lower price be the reason. Remember, people are going to pay for the luxury and status. Instead, focus on style (colors or designs), categories (shoes or pants), audience, marketing, and origin (manufacture location). Create your own niche by blending these categories into something that no one else is doing.

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Promote your Brand. to maintain that luxurious and exclusive standard, don’t launch tons of stuff.

Play up the exclusivity and scarcity.

Use the age old tactic of drops to gain traction without having to rely on discounts.

Then collaborate with infulencers, boutiques retailers, and market content via social media, emails, etc.

name that sounds different from any existing brand. Then combine that with a metaphorical Phrase.

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Launch a physical store operating online at first is completley fine to get you up on your feet, but you want to eventually expand to an in person store so that the luxury can be experienced. Every true luxury brand is dependent on their own branded stores to deliver luxury experiences.

However, retail is expensive, so you shouldn’t launch a store until you are completely ready. Then if everything goes well, expand to multiple locations and take over the realm of streetwear .

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this book was designed by perry sosi in sophomore year graphic design at boston university in Spring 2021

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Thanks for reading :)

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Look good, Feel good, Feel good, Play good