US fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger has announced a multi-year partnership with the US SailGP Team from that sailing series.
The team has unveiled Tommy Hilfiger as its official lifestyle apparel partner, and its catamarans will feature the brand's logo on either side of the boat, as well as on team uniforms and capsule collections.
The partnership will launch globally at the start of Season 5 in November 2024.
As part of the deal, celebrities and other “special guests” will be invited to exclusive partnership activations such as riding with the US team, while the fashion brand will host a VIP lounge called the Adrenaline Lounge.
Tommy Hilfiger said: “Since I was very young, I always loved the world of sailing and the nautical lifestyle, but SailGP is next level; it’s a whole new sport.
“By fusing intense racing and elite performance with international competition in iconic venues around the world, SailGP is making waves in adrenaline sport. Mike Buckley and the US SailGP team have a unique vision to create a story and an impact that goes well beyond sporting competitions."
Mike Buckley, US SailGP Team chief executive, added: “I’ve long been in awe of how Tommy Hilfiger has defined fashion in sports, so this partnership is a literal dream come true.
“Tommy Hilfiger blends the world of style and athleticism like no other, and I get goosebumps when thinking about how we're going to shake up the world of sailing.”
The US SailGP Team, which was among the six founding sides in the series, was acquired last November by a wide group of investors from the sport, technology, and media industries in what was touted as the sailing league's biggest such tie-up so far.
The Avenue Sports Fund, led by Avenue Capital Group chief executive Marc Lasry, was the lead investor, with other members of the investment group including founding Uber engineer Ryan McKillen, two-time world champion sailor Mike Buckley, world champion boxer Deontay Wilder, former US soccer player Jozy Altidore, Muse Capital’s Assia Grazioli-Venier, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, and NFL stars DeAndre Hopkins, Malik Jackson, Roquan Smith, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
The US team’s commercial portfolio includes Red Bull, T-Mobile for Business, and Zhik.
Elsewhere in SailGP, the series and investment firm Mubadala Capital have today unveiled the acquisition of the first South American SailGP team.
Representing Brazil, the team will join SailGP at the start of Season 5, and will be known as the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team.
Mubadala is already a significant SailGP partner, in a multi-faceted deal that runs through to 2026 and includes title sponsorship rights to the upcoming SailGP event in New York (June 22-24).
SailGP's chief executive, Sir Russell Coutts, has said: "Brazil has achieved an incredible history of success in Olympic sailing and it’s fitting they are now entering the professional ranks of SailGP – competing against the best in the world. This opens up a new and very significant market for SailGP."
