What Taylor Swift, a Knicks T-Shirt, and a Tied Brazil Jersey Tell Us About Fashion Right Now

Fandom and the DIY Sports Jersey Era

Este Haim, Taylor Swift, and Mariska Hargitay (Photo courtesy of the Today Show)

The joke in Paris is that it’s always fashion week, and considering we are just five days out from Menswear Spring/Summer 2027, that joke is starting to feel real.

However, we’ve also found ourselves in the middle of another important season — and that’s sports, sports, and more sports.

Morgan Riddle at the World Cup 2026 (Photo courtesy of Morgan Riddle)

For years, fashion has been about individual expression. Standing out. Being unique. Having your own point of view.

But what if that cultural mood is shifting?

What if what we’re really looking for isn’t individuality at all?

What if it’s belonging?

At the same time, fashion has become an increasingly important part of professional sports. From tennis walk-on outfits to Formula One’s Louis Vuitton trophy cases, sports and fashion are now in constant conversation.

But perhaps the most interesting development isn’t happening on the court, field, or track.

It’s happening in the stands.

Over the past year, we’ve seen a surge in DIY sports fan culture, particularly among women. Customized jerseys, handmade T-shirts, sports-themed charms, and personalized accessories have become regular fixtures on social media. What was once merchandise is increasingly becoming fashion.

Fandom

Long before sports jerseys became fashion statements, I took a university class on fandom, cultural obsession, and what makes something meaningful enough to devote yourself to.

One of the girls in the class was obsessed with the band Muse. And when I say obsessed, I mean obsessed — binders, shirts, references to songs in every conversation, life centered around shows. They were, in fact, her muse.

Fandom is an interesting thing. It refers to the culture, collective enthusiasm, and community surrounding a team, brand, fictional world, celebrity, artist, or movement. It’s about people who are so passionate about something that they don’t just consume it — they follow it, discuss it, create content around it, and often build part of their identity around it. They advocate for it.

Today, we find ourselves in the middle of two major cultural moments. New York is celebrating its first NBA championship in more than fifty years. Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup is unfolding across Mexico, the United States, and Canada as fans begin choosing favorites, tracking storylines, and emotionally investing in teams.

You don’t need to follow fashion — or even basketball — to have seen the viral Knicks shirts worn by Taylor Swift, the Haim sisters, and Mariska Hargitay.

Their shirts featured playful references including “Stevie Knicks” and “Knickleback,” quickly becoming a symbol of fan participation rather than traditional team merchandise.

Alana Haim, Taylor Swift and Este Haim (Photo courtesy of Entertainment Weekly)

Likewise, influencer Morgan Riddle has created her own cultural moments through sports-inspired styling. A tied Brazil jersey worn during the World Cup and basketball charms attached to her Manolo Blahniks transformed sports fandom into something personal.

Basketball charms and World Cup Jerseys (Photos courtesy of Morgan Riddle)

Neither look was really about the garment itself.

Both were about taking a shared symbol and making it your own.

So what’s behind this shift?

Momentum.

Cultural moments rarely arrive fully formed. They gather speed.

A team starts winning. A city begins paying attention. Celebrities show up courtside. Social media notices. Brands join in. Suddenly what began as a sporting event becomes a cultural event.

Momentum creates relevance, and relevance creates participation.

Then comes emotion.

The Knicks didn’t matter because they won.

They mattered because they hadn’t won.

Fifty-three years of waiting. Generations of disappointment. A city that had convinced itself it might never happen. The championship became bigger than basketball. It became a Cinderella story.

For the girl in my university class, Muse meant something because she connected with them emotionally. The music made her feel. It made her believe in something outside of herself that she could still feel part of.

Sports does the same thing.

Luxury brands spend millions trying to create emotional resonance. Sports often creates it naturally.

And then there is relevance.

Earlier this year, I was gifted a Knicks sweatshirt. I loved it immediately. The only problem was that I left it abroad, waiting for my next visit.

Now I find myself watching New York celebrate while the sweatshirt sits folded in a drawer thousands of miles away.

The sweatshirt hasn’t changed. Its meaning has.

What was once simply a sweatshirt has become tied to a specific cultural moment. A moment I wasn’t fully there for.

The crowd celebrating (Photo courtesy of The Today Show)

That’s what fandom does. It transforms objects into memories, symbols, and proof that you were there when something mattered.

Which brings us back to fashion.

Isn’t this what luxury has always been trying to do?

Create meaning.

Create belonging.

Create a sense that owning something connects you to a larger story.

In business and marketing, fandom has become one of the most valuable concepts there is because it goes beyond customer loyalty. A customer buys a product. A fan advocates for it, creates content around it, and helps spread it.

Fandom represents the shift from audiences being passive observers to active participants in a story, community, or lifestyle.

The personalization matters.

Whether it’s initials on a handbag, a handwritten note in a delivery box, a tied Brazil jersey, or a custom Knicks T-shirt, the goal is often the same: creating a feeling of participation.

Fans don’t want to consume.

They want to co-author.

And that’s an important distinction for brands, especially luxury brands.

The question is no longer how to attract customers.

It’s how to create a fandom.

The question is no longer how to attract customers. It’s how to create a fandom.

Perhaps that’s why sports are beginning to resemble membership clubs.

Across New York there has been a resurgence of private clubs, each offering its own version of access and belonging. Sports offers something remarkably similar. Not necessarily access, but participation. Membership in a story larger than yourself.

Morgan Riddle seems to understand this well. She now leads The 400 Club, a sports marketing agency and membership community centered on female sports fans.

And I don’t think this momentum is slowing down.

Maybe that’s why we’re seeing customized jerseys everywhere.

Tied Brazil jerseys. Handmade Knicks shirts. Fan-created looks that are less about fashion and more about participation, membership, and belonging.

In an era where algorithms increasingly serve us personalized worlds, fandom remains one of the few places where millions of people can still believe in the same story at the same time.

And perhaps that’s why sports jerseys have become fashion’s most meaningful garment.

Not because they’re stylish.

But because they allow us to say something increasingly rare:

I was part of this.