Apparel

Every company needs to be a lifestyle company to some extent it seems. Look at some of the biggest sales verticals for promotional products. Look at the food and drink, automotive, and sports sectors. And now, big music brands like Fender and Gibson are doing the same with all sorts of merchandise.

Spotify announced this week that it would hold the second-annual event called Band Shirt Day on September 15, in cooperation with MerchFriends, which is a nonprofit organization that helps build "a sustainable ecosystem for independent music merchandise."

Ralph Lauren does a pretty good job designing apparel for the U.S.'s premier athletes. The designer brand's Team USA gear for the Olympics is always interesting, and creates influence elsewhere in the apparel world, as other companies look to replicate the mixes of style and athletic function. In the promotional apparel space, golf is a…

At the Minnesota State Fair, Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar is selling co-branded T-shirts with the fair's headlining musical act, The Black Keys. The shirts are limited to just 250, and are only available at the concert.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are celebrating an icon from a different franchise on Sept. 1. As part of Lakers Night, the Dodgers are giving away a special-edition Kobe Bryant jersey, which features both of his numbers — 8 and 24 — on a black and yellow jersey.

The St. Louis Cardinals made an absolutely genius T-shirt giveaway from Emo Night at the ballpark. It features a very sullen looking Cardinal, and uses the My Chemical Romance logo font, redesigned to say "My Cardinal Romance."

While I live and breathe all things ink and thread for apparel, I also understand most people are not going to be as obsessed with the specifics of the craft. However, even if you don’t know the specifics of ink mixing and mesh densities, I believe it is only beneficial to be aware of all the possibilities you can offer your clientele.

Rivian Automotive, an American electric vehicle manufacturer, just released a line of apparel with features that are influenced by the actual features of the car, going beyond just a comfortable sportswear feel.

Through a partnership with Round21 and artist Jayson Atienza, USWNT stars like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Kelley O'Hara, and Crystal Dunn were able to let their personalities shine through in the form of special-edition products.

In today's day and age where Kardashians are wearing Slayer and Metallica shirts, old band shirts have a high fashion appeal to them. But Yves Saint Laurent just launched a line of '90s- and grunge-inspired products, including a Nirvana Shirt featuring the "Insecticide" album cover that costs $4,450.