Fashion Brief: Why Branded Baseball Caps Are Suddenly Everywhere

Call it a TikTok score. As various hashtag aesthetics appear on various social media, consumers are turning to fashion brand styles to identify themselves or choose a voluntary line. At the same time, famous and aspirational brands are inclined towards sales and marketing opportunity ball caps; They are responding to the demand by releasing logo-laden styles that are appropriate for the occasion while making their worlds accessible. Baseball caps have become commonplace, and brands are now building on product categories based on performance.

Once you catch the trend, it’s hard to miss it. Small and crocheted branded ball caps have been flooding fashionistas’ Instagram from time to time. Versions of Allo Yoga, Frankie Shop and Annie Bing were big among the style influencers. Meanwhile, fall lookbooks and products from Aimé Leon Dore and Loro Piana, respectively, signal industry confidence in the trend’s longevity — by today’s standards, anyway.

It is not a new idea. Balenciaga-branded hats have been around since 2017, when they were worn by celebrities including Kylie Jenner and Rihanna. And even though they’re non-existent or invisibly labeled, the “success” characters have fueled the demand for the $400-$600 Loro Piana Parts Loro Piana Parts to restore. 2021.

But the rigor of the concept cannot be denied. Ranking eighth on fashion search engine Lyst’s list of “hottest” men’s products for the second quarter of 2022, the Polo Ralph Lauren Classic Cotton Chino Ball Cap features the signature shiny pony icon in the center of the front panels. List rankings are based on buyers’ social and online shopping behavior.

And fashion brands that recently introduced baseball caps have plans to roll out even more. Frame, meanwhile, is playing into the trend with hotel collaborations. In the year In 2021, he released styles including caps emblazoned with “The Carlyle” or “Ritz Paris” as well as a small “frame” on the back panel. And on Thursday, a second Ritz Paris collection will debut, featuring a Ritz-branded cap available in three colors.

According to Frame Founder and Chief Creative Officer Erik Thorstensen, the buzz around the original Ritz collection is among the greatest Frames ever seen for collaboration. That was sparked by celebrity fans, including Hailey Bieber and Naomi Campbell, who were photographed wearing the pieces in “high fashion”. Items from the collection are now selling for five to 10 times their retail price at resale locations.

“Merch continues to gain momentum,” Thorstensen said. ” of [first] The Ritz Paris Collection is one of the most famous heritage brands in the world, so it resonated well. And our collaboration democratizes access—everyone can afford to buy a baseball cap.

Aside from going for a celebrity, consumers are clamoring to find a gender-neutral, utilitarian look that’s being promoted by fashion collections. Paired with a white tank top, a pair of oversized pants and chunky sandals, a ball cap completes the influencer and designer-approved outfit of the day.

Like Frame, Annin Bing also produced the brand’s ball caps in 2021. According to company CEO Olivia Gentin, the inspiration was “Princess Diana’s off-duty streetwear style,” a classic focal point for the brand — and many others today — thanks to it. Timelessness and simplicity. In addition, it was the goal of promoting a “strong style” to provide both brand “visibility” and “the brand at an opening price.” In the 18 months since, he has continued to sell capital. It has become part of Anin Bing’s Core Classics collection, and the brand releases new colors every season. Annie Bing Shopping features wearable hats from activewear to tailored styles.

“We continue to innovate and build on our top-selling strategies every season,” Gentin said. As such, the company is now favoring complementary styles including product visitors and hair accessories.

Similarly, sales of Alo Yoga brand caps have started. The company’s VP of design, Abby Gordon, said the introduction of the caps was in response to community demand for more ways to interact with the brand. But both Aloe loyalists and first-time consumers, as well as men and women, are buying them, largely motivated by the style’s “accessibility and versatility.” The hats are sold quarterly, and the collection has grown to six more colorways since its launch, she added. Caps now have a permanent placement in the ALO product collection.

If the new 5-year M65 Studio collection is any indication, the branded hats are set to last until at least spring 2023. The brand’s spring line, which is set to debut on the runway at New York Fashion Week on September 9, will include several logo ball caps, designer Anthony Hendrickson confirmed to the Glossy. The styles reflect Hendrickson’s overall vision of a “casual,” “Y2K” look, inspired by “what people wear on the street.”

And according to data from Distributor Research and Markets, the global baseball cap market will continue to grow. In the year It is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% from 2020 to reach $24.2 billion by 2026.

But for any company that wants to find success in the space, a strong brand must come before the market.

Amsterdam-based Bart Kue, who also works as a freelance marketer at Calvin Klein, has been building a brand-first fashion business since May 2020. So far, only brand caps are sold.

During the pandemic, Cui launched Cabmate, an Instagram account meant to be a digital moodboard-slash-creative outlet. He chose the name “captivating, cosmopolitan” after seeing the term in a newspaper story about John Weiser, founder of the popular NYC retailer Charivari. And he created a logo for it using what he thought was a modern, yet familiar font.

Cabmet’s focus on masculine and feminine, ’90s-minimal style quickly attracted a following of fashion A-listers. Rita Ora, fashion media veteran Katie Grand and influencer Camille Charrier are among the 11,000 Instagram users who are recreating decades-old pictures of Kate Moss and Caroline Bessette-Kennedy.

When a friend encouraged him to “do more” with the account to allow his followers to experience the “vibrancy” of his posts, Cui said, he decided to launch the ball cap based on their unisex simplicity that fits everyone. Through the Shopify website, which is set up to sell in 27 countries, it has established a strong side hustle to sell its caps. Each of the eight available styles features “Cabmate” contrast embroidery and retails for around $45. France, Germany, England and the Netherlands are Cabmet’s top sales markets, and all of the company’s growth to date has been organic, Cui said. He declined to share sales figures.

“People wear our hats because they want to be a part of this community — to show that they’re part of an inner circle or ‘in the know,'” he said. “The caps are good quality, but they are basic caps. They buy them for the brand.

Of course, much of what’s behind the new trend of logo caps is working to give a boost to once-tired toques, as recently and widely reported. As such, the branded baseball cap is not the “new brand tote” so to speak. Instead, Gentin says, “There’s a need for both. [shoppers’] Clothes. Both are here to stay.”

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