Abercrombie Accelerates Partnership with Formula 1 Racing Team

Alexandra Harrell
·3 min read

Abercrombie & Fitch is revving up its partnerships and taking a victory lap with McLaren.

The “more than just T-shirts and denim” retailer has teamed with the award-winning Formula 1 team on a release of a licensed graphic apparel collection. Content creation, social media collaborations and events are also part of the partnership.

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Abercrombie’s first collection of McLaren licensed apparel dropped last year.

The partnership serves as an “organic evolution” to Abercrombie’s first collection of McLaren licensed apparel, which dropped last year. The collaboration went viral with Gen Z consumers on TikTok.

Partnering with the British motor racing team has been “an honor” for the Gilly Hicks parent brand, according to Carey Collins Krug, chief marketing officer of Abercrombie & Fitch.

“Over the last year, our relationship with McLaren grown from TikTok virality to a very real friendship, weaving the relaxed and effortlessly elevated world of Abercrombie with the invigorating and fast-paced world of McLaren Racing,” she said.

Louise McEwen, McLaren Racing’s executive director of brand and marketing, shared the sentiment.

“Our fans are incredibly important to us,” she said. “We’re always looking for new ways to make them feel [like] part of the team, and this collaboration does just that.”

The collaboration consists of six new licensed tees, hoodies and sweatshirts across men’s, women’s and kid’s styles, ranging from $40-$90. Standout pieces include the McLaren Graphic Crew Sweatshirt, available in nine colorways with various Formula 1-inspired graphics. Select products are available in brick-and-mortar, and an exclusive graphic assortment is available online.

For New York City shoppers, Abercrombie’s Fifth Avenue storefront is outfitted with McLaren’s new Formula 1 car and the racing team’s official 2024 livery design, all on display through Feb. 4.

The McLaren Formula 1 race car inside Abercrombie & Fitch on Fifth Avenue.
The McLaren Formula 1 race car inside Abercrombie & Fitch on Fifth Avenue.

Eagle-eyes racing fans, however, have identified a few gaffes in the graphics.

Per news outlet GP Fans, Abercrombie’s T-shirt featuring the Williams team—and serving as an homage to the 1996 world championship winning car, driven by Damon Hill—features the wrong vehicle. The FW19, driven by Hill’s replacement, Heinz Harald Frentzen, is mistakenly printed.

“Another design fault discovered in Abercrombie’s Williams design is one showcasing their five constructors’ titles during the 1990s, but the car used on the shirt is actually the FW11 from the 1980s, which won two constructors’ world championships in 1986 and 1987—the latter also seeing Nelson Piquet win the drivers’ title,” GP Fans wrote.

Abercrombie did not respond to Sourcing Journal’s request for comment regarding the snafu.

Additionally, the Ohio-based retailer announced a digital sweepstakes on TikTok, capitalizing on both brands’ “shared passions of outfitting and delivering the ultimate weekend.”

The Abercrombie x McLaren Sweeps gives participants the opportunity to win two Grand Stand tickets to the 2024 Miami Race Weekend in May, up to $3,500 in airfare and hotel credit, one 2024 season replica helmet signed by McLaren racer Lando Norris, and $500 worth of A&F product from the Abercrombie x McLaren collection.

Entrants must follow Abercrombie and McLaren on TikTok to enter, like the video announcing the sweepstakes and tag a friend with a race car emoji in the comments.