Boss x Russell Athletic Show-Slash-Fest Hits Milan

BOSS GAME: Boss anticipated a grand spectacle for its Milan Fashion Week reveal of its second collaboration with Russell Athletic and it delivered exactly what promised — if not more.

Guests at the venue, the Kennedy Sport Center in western Milan, were escorted via golf cars from the entrance to the baseball field where the show-slash-fest unfurled. Especially for the Europeans in the crowd, it was an unusual site to see a marching band playing pop hits, cheerleaders jumping, twirling and doing all their breathtaking tricks.

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Everything was perfectly arranged for a real game, from the waiters serving popcorn and small-sized burgers, to the audience waving and cheering (Chicago Cubs versus Cleveland Indians in 2016, anyone?), that one couldn’t help but feel transported by the energy.

Never mind that the clothes — a range of tailored sportswear looks intended for Gen Z customers, which the Boss brand is courting — were hard to be seen amid the fanfare going on around the catwalk, the experience was great and purposefully conceived for the online viewers tuning in via Instagram and other social media platforms.

Social media power players like models Gigi Hadid, Irina Shayk, Joan Smalls and Adut Akechas and track and field athlete Alica Schmidt strutted down the field-turned-catwalk, exciting the audience. Italian TikTok sensation Khaby Lame closed the show.

As the show neared the end, guests were left craving a real baseball match. Good news is it shouldn’t take much time now to attend one in person with the November lifting of the U.S. travel ban for vaccinated European citizens.

In an exclusive preview with WWD, Hugo Boss chief brand officer Ingo Wilts said the company wanted to blend its heritage with that of the U.S. sportswear icon. Mission accomplished.

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