Columbus-based lifestyle apparel brand Homage this week launched its first-ever licensed collection for an entire league, unveiling fan-inspired T-shirts, scarves and socks for each of the 20 MLS clubs. As part of a two-year deal that began this season, the company is licensed to produce team-branded T-shirts, fleeces, scarves and knit hats for sale through Homage.com, as well as its three brick-and-mortar locations in Ohio. The socks in the collection are produced by fellow licensee For Bare Feet. Homage Dir of Marketing Nate Ellis said the company was one of about 15 new licensees MLS brought on for the ’15 season. The focus of the company’s current collection is on rallying cries and traditions that ring true with each team’s fan base. While Homage’s clothing is generally vintage or retro-themed, as its moniker implies, Ellis said the league requested it only use current team marks, ruling out the possibility of using marks that existed for franchises when the league was established in ’96. Instead, the company focused on trying to capture the essence of what it is like to be a present-day supporter of each of the clubs, picking the brains of supporters’ groups and former MLS greats over the course of the past year. Ellis said, “We wanted to tie into that fan experience and that level of ownership that the supporters feel for the clubs.”
THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE: The shirts feature unique bold-lettered slogans accompanied by team logos. The Timbers shirt reads, “Bury Me In Green And Gold,” a reference to a popular fan chant. The Rapids shirt carries the number “5280” -- alluding to the number of feet in a mile for the Mile-High City of Denver. The Whitecaps shirt takes a popular club slogan, “Our All. Our Honour,” and puts it front and center. The Sounders’ shirt simply reads, “Boom Boom Clap,” playing off of a fan ritual at CenturyLink Field. Promotion of the collection has largely been limited to social media, as well as producing an online video spot around the slogan, “Live The Colors.” The video shows fans doing everyday activities, reading up on the latest news about their teams and getting ready to root on their clubs, all while wearing the shirts, scarves and socks from the new collection. Reaction to the designs on social media has been largely positive. Homage first became involved with MLS in ’13, when it received a license to produce a limited run of Crew-branded merchandise for the company’s local team. While MLS is the first pro league to reach a licensing deal with Homage, the company has more than 50 collegiate licenses, including local powerhouse Ohio State, deals with former athletes -- among them Basketball HOFer Larry Bird and Baseball HOFer Barry Larkin -- and several collections in collaboration with ESPN based on its programming.
