This Eagles Collaboration Is an Homage to Philly Fans
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Jimmy Gorecki knows that Philly fans are on a whole other level. Originally from Norristown, Pennsylvania, the skater-turned-designer grew up in a fervent (to put it politely) sports culture that non-locals just don’t get. “They’ll never understand it, man,” he says over the phone from his adopted hometown of Los Angeles. “It is a different fan base. But as tough as they are, they are hella smart and they know their shit.”
We’re chatting because Gorecki recently teamed up with the Philadelphia Eagles on the Generational Collection, an assortment of apparel and accessories created in conjunction with Gorecki’s brand JSP as well as Standard Issue, the label he launched with business partner Jarod Lee in 2018. Gorecki is telling me about a very Philly-sports-fan reaction to the price of a sweatshirt—“a hundred and fucking 20 bucks for a fucking hoodie!”—and explaining that despite the ire, he loves hearing that kind of thing.
“I would hope someone would understand how much hard work went into all the pieces,” he says of the complaint. “But at the same time, there’s such a genuine, authentic Philly fucking outlook that you have to respect about them.”
The sweatshirt in question is one of two in the collection, both of which have sweatpants to match. There’s the midnight green option, representing the team’s modern era. And then there’s the kelly green version, a throwback to the vintage Eagles look that’s been revived for a few key games this season. (It’ll show up on the field again for the Birds’ November 26 game against the Buffalo Bills.) Considering its iconic status, it’s not surprising that the kelly green sweatsuit was the first thing to sell out when the collection initially went live on Standard Issue’s site. Luckily for fans, it just got a restock at the end of last week.
But it’s not just about the colors or the logo treatments Gorecki and his crew worked up—so many, in fact, that he admits that the initial “smorgasbord” of options “might've been a little too overwhelming” for the folks at the Eagles organization. At its core, this collection is all about a hometown boy getting a chance to tell the story of Eagles fandom in a way that feels authentic. The inspiration—not a huge shocker for anyone that’s been in the lot before a game—was a good old-fashioned tailgate.
“I was like, ‘Yo, your guys’ tailgate lot is the ultimate runway to show the lineage and the heritage here,’” Gorecki says of his initial conversations with the Eagles organization. “When you go to any Eagles game—or Phillies game, Sixers game—you see all these different eras of gear. It was like, That's how we can pull this all together in one shot and make it feel cohesive.”
There’s one final—and crucial—element threaded through the Generational Collection. On the back of the sweatshirts and T-shirt is bold, block-letter text reading, “Rent is due every day.” It’s the slogan of Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, and something that Gorecki felt was essential to making the collection work visually and philosophically.
“There were moments where I was like, ‘If they don’t sign off on this, I don’t even know if we can do it,’” Gorecki says. Thankfully, Hurts gave his blessing. And for Gorecki, who says working on with the Eagles is “like winning the Philadelphia Olympics,” that was exactly what was needed to bring the project home.
“That one piece pulled it all together,” he says. “Because it’s something that everybody in Philly can understand, something that’s applicable to people’s lives even beyond game day.”
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