Esports is not only making an impact on the Olympics, but on fashion as well. SNIPES, a very popular German sneaker and streetwear line, recently announced it is forming a partnership with ESL for a few events. These events include: ESL One Cologne, gamescom, and ESL One Hamburg. Their co-branded line will make its debut at gamescom 2018 and will be available through the SNIPES store. It’s a huge deal because SNIPES is going to become ESL’s first legit fashion retailer. This first time we saw this new joint venture was at ESL One Cologne where SNIPES had presenting rights for the Players’ Lounges.
According to Ismail Boulaghmal, marketing consultant for the SNIPES board who spoke with The Esports Observer, “As opposed to most brands, for SNIPES, it’s not about tapping into new target groups since gaming fans already love streetwear. For us, it’s about merging gaming and streetwear and we dedicate ourselves to this great task with a long-term plan.”
It sounds intriguing. Since other professional athletes have their own unique brand of clothing, it only makes sense for esports athletes to get that too. Fans also like to pick up a piece of clothing similar to what their favorite gamer wear; this gives them the chance to do that.
SNIPES has a 20-year history and has even attracted endorsements from celebrities including, Dennis Schroeder, Wiz Khalifa, and Snoop Dogg. So when ESL picked a brand to partner with, they went with a brand that is not only well known but knows what it’s doing. ESL fans must be super excited as well to see the collection. We’ll have to wait for pictures and more details on what the final line will look like once it is unveiled in its full glory at gamescom 2018.
