October 24th 2023.
Kenny Annan-Jonathan made history in August when he was named the first-ever Creative Director for English Premier League football club, Crystal Palace. His role involves overseeing the clothing designs and partnerships with players and fashion designers, with his first assignment being to facilitate a collection for the 2023-2024 Premier League season.
The appointment puts him in esteemed company, as more major teams are seeking creatives to help build the ever-growing relationship between sports’ most famous players and the fashion world. Annan-Jonathan explained that before he was chosen for the role, emails were sent to the owner of Crystal Palace suggesting there should be a Creative Director.
“Especially when it comes to fashion, it’s about having your finger on the pulse, and when it comes to a conversation about who the athletes are, naturally fashion comes into that because that is a way of them expressing who they are,” he said. “So, I just said if these two things are colliding, in the future, you can naturally see a road map to see that fashion is going to be incorporated into sports a lot more.”
The South-London-born creative has his own plans for the popular football club. His first priority is to look at the company as a whole and consider how to reach their audiences. He believes apparel is a great way to build a community and is the perfect place to start.
In 2017, Annan-Jonathan launched his bespoke sports marketing agency, The Mailroom, with the intention of bridging the gap between athletes and traditional and non-traditional collaborations. He was then able to build a successful clothing line alongside Crystal Palace player Wilfred Zaha.
It was during these meetings that Annan-Jonathan noticed the lack of people helping Zaha in the business space, and he earned his trust to become his first client.
Only two other sports teams boast creative directors: the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers. In April, Major League Soccer tapped streetwear designer Guillermo Andrade as its creative advisor. With the growing trend of teams tapping creatives, it seems that Annan-Jonathan is in good company.
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