Introduction: In the sports fashion world, retro is, or at least has been, king. Who was the king-maker? Potential candidates would include Big Boi, and Dre. But it wasnt until Puff Daddy wore throwbacks at the 2002 American Music Awards the craze really took off.
Of course that wasnt the first anyone had heard of throwbacks, celebrities such as Spike Lee were wearing Mitchell and Ness throwbacks back in 1990. However it was the late 1990s, before anyone really noticed. Early favorites were the Hank Aaron 1974 Atlanta Braves jersey and the Houston Astros 1988 rainbow design.
The reigning king maker however is none of the men we mentioned. The King Maker was Peter Capolino, owner of Mitchell and Ness. As a company, Mitchell and Ness has been around since 1904. They have not always been in the business of throwbacks .
Mitchell
and Ness began life as a sports manufacturer, primarily golf clubs. By
1925, however, the company got out of the golf business and ventured
into athletic uniforms for the first time. But it also went into ski
equipment, and a host of other directions. Its lack of direction cost
them dearly and in the early 1980s it almost went bankrupt. They had
diversified into too many areas.
Scaling back his business, Capolino moved into a smaller storefront. In the storeroom of the new location he found what would go on to change the focus of his company, and his own life for good. Stored away in the new shop, and left behind by its previous tennants were crates of old magazines, many with pictures of old sports uniforms.
Scaling back his business, Capolino moved into a smaller storefront. In the storeroom of the new location he found what would go on to change the focus of his company, and his own life for good. Stored away in the new shop, and left behind by its previous tennants were crates of old magazines, many with pictures of old sports uniforms.
About this time, a change was happening in the NBA and in hip hop
culture. For years the league was dominated by a guy named Michael, who
had a very mainstream, good-guy image. As his notable star began to
fall, another generation of athletes took center stage. Not mainstream,
and intent on leaving their own mark on the game, this generation was
typified by bad boy Allan Iverson. He of tatooes, attitude, and a hip
hop fashion trend called retro.The NBA was quick to capitolize on this
new fad, in an attempt to breath some life into a league that had
suffered from a work stoppage in 1998.
Soon fans and players alike were scrambling to be the first seen
wearing a new, rare, or hard to find throwback. NBA jerseys have always
been the most popular, but the old school look also works for MLB and
the NFL . Even the NHL has gotten into the action with thier Vintage
Hockey collection.
The fad peaked in 2003, and throughout 2004 sales began to steadily decline. By that point though, Mitchell and Ness had been joined in the arena by every manufacturer of sports gear on the planet. Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and a host of illegal M&N knock-offs, appeared on the scene. For the true fan however, a vintage jersey will always be a collectors item, irrespective of whether it is in fashion or not.