The popularity of the ‘varsity jacket’, which we are familiar with as a style called ‘baseball jumper’ or ‘university jumper’, is also hot in this year’s fall/winter (FW) season. A variety of products were released, ranging from the low-priced range of 50,000 won to the high-priced range of 900,000 won, and sales of major brand products increased six-fold compared to the previous year.
According to the fashion industry on the 27th, major street fashion brands and sports brands this year have released various styles of varsity jackets and are receiving a good response from MZ generation consumers.
The varsity jacket originated as a uniform worn by athletes on the field. It was first worn by the Harvard University baseball team in the 1930s, with an alphabet patch with the school’s initials sewn onto the front chest.
Afterwards, it was also called the stadium jumper and Letterman jacket and emerged as a fashion item. It is thicker than the baseball jumper we commonly know and is made of various materials, so it has high thermal insulation, making it a great product as a fall/winter coat.
The most representative and popular product is the varsity jacket from MLB, a casual brand operated by F&F. MLB, which has consistently produced baseball jumpers based on the American Major League Baseball heritage, is also well-known as a varsity jacket restaurant.
This year, in particular, the number of items increased four times compared to last year, and 12 styles of varsity jackets were released. The goal was to satisfy consumers’ diverse tastes by drastically increasing colors, materials, and designs. This strategy was successful, and according to F&F, sales of MLB’s varsity jackets this year increased by more than 500% compared to the same period last year.
SUPRA, another street lifestyle brand from F&F, also tripled the number of varsity jacket styles compared to last year. This year, Supra opened its Myeongdong flagship store in September, and sales of outerwear such as varsity jackets increased, with sales of related items doubling compared to the same period last year. MLB and Supra varsity jackets cost in the토스카지노 도메인 200,000-400,000 won range.
Hansae MK’s street casual brand NBA is also pushing the varsity jacket as its signature product. According to Hansae MK, from January this year to the 18th of this month, NBA varsity jacket sales increased 223% compared to the same period last year.
Accordingly, the NBA this year launched a large number of new products with enhanced warmth using wool blend materials. In particular, on the 25th, they introduced a limited edition premium varsity jacket made of Harris Tweed, the highest quality fabric representing Scotland, England. Harris Tweed is a 100% handmade fabric and is characterized by a unique atmosphere that comes from its rough texture. As it is a premium product, the price is high at approximately 900,000 won.
Mid- to low-priced SPA brands also reduced the number of varsity jackets released. Shinsung Trading’s SPA brand Top Ten launched a varsity jacket in two colors, black and green, and SPA brand SPAO, operated by E-Land, also released varsity jackets in various designs and sizes.
The varsity jackets of these SPA brands are relatively inexpensive, usually in the 50,000 to 80,000 won range, so they are popular as ‘cost-effective’ products.
A fashion industry official said, “The timeless varsity jacket can be styled casually or classically depending on how you style it,” adding, “Recently, idols are wearing varsity jackets as stage outfits with a school look concept, further boosting their popularity.” “He said.