Pepsi is jumping on the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) bandwagon with a new campaign meant to build on the excitement of the fall’s most anticipated sartorial event.
As New York Fashion Week: The Shows kicked off on Wednesday, the soft drink company re-upped on its “Made for Football Watching” campaign by announcing a limited-edition capsule collection with Harlem couturier Dapper Dan. Entering its second season, the campaign celebrates football fandom and binge watching through digital content and exclusive merch and prizes.
As the official soda beverage sponsor for NYFW and the official soft drink of the National Football League (NFL), the company is seeking to capitalize on the buzz for both cultural touchstones. The Pepsi x Dapper Dan Football Watching capsule, dropping Thursday at 9 a.m. EST, will feature assertive luxury gear designed for the armchair quarterback. A hoodie, bucket hat and collectible Pepsi complement a custom lounger made with vegan leather pockets. With a signature all-over print designed for the collection, the products were inspired by classic football jerseys.
“I’ve been bringing luxury fashion to Harlem for 35 years and let me tell you, you don’t always see a true authentic collaboration come to life the way it did here with Pepsi, and right in time for the football season and New York Fashion Week at that,” Dapper Dan said in a statement. The designer, who helped pioneer the rise of streetwear in the early ‘80s, is known for his original garments made with high-end details like leathers and furs, and has dressed celebrities from Beyonce and Jay-Z to Missy Elliott, P. Diddy and Floyd Mayweather.
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“This capsule collection is equally inspired by the Pepsi brand, football fans, and my one-of-a-kind looks,” he added. “Fashion and football have never come together like this before.”
The collection will be available on Pepsi’s Made for Football Watching microsite through Sept. 23. The first 400 consumers to sign up on the platform will be eligible to purchase products, and the first three eligible consumers will receive the handmade loungers from Dapper Dan’s Harlem atelier. Fans will also have the chance to redeem points to enter for a shot at winning the full capsule collection between Sept. 12-18 and Sept. 26-Oct.2.
“With this year’s NFL season kicking off at the same time as New York Fashion Week: The Shows, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate the football watching experience with some fashionable yet comfortable loungewear, perfect for game day on the couch,” said Todd Kaplan, vice president of marketing for Pepsi.
Noting that the Pepsi brand has always enjoyed “deep roots in pop culture and football,” Kaplan lauded Dapper Dan’s “bold and unapologetic” merging of streetwear and luxury fashion for helping bring the campaign to life.
“We thought he was the perfect partner to blend his visionary taste in streetwear with football fandom in the unique way only he can do,” he added.