Watch out, children of the ‘80s and ‘90s: Starter jackets are making a comeback.
Carl Banks, the former Giants linebacker and current owner of GIII sportswear company, is spearheading an effort to bring back the classic satin jackets that seemed almost ubiquitous with the sideline of NFL games for decades.
Banks said he was looking for a new jacket to add to his company when he began considering bringing back Starters.
“My confirmation came when, unbeknownst to my 17-year-old son, who is a sneakerhead, when I’m driving, he puts his iPhone in front of me and said ‘you need to bring these back,’” Banks said. “So he shows me three Starter satin jackets and I’m like ‘what do you know about these?’ and he said ‘these are what’s up.’ Just like that, so I’m like we’re on the right track.”
Despite their popularity in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Starters have fallen out of American pop culture thanks to a few changes in ownership and a lack of protection on the one-time exclusive brand. Banks said he hopes to bring it back from the bins of casual sportswear to high-profile athletes. For commercials debuting this month, he enlisted the help of Spike Lee to direct it and Terrell Owens, a brand ambassador for Starter. The NFL jackets have begun to roll out and NBA Starter jackets are expected to come later this year.
The new print ads for the jackets will include a series of trash talking between the jerseys:
Owens said he was incredibly excited to be part of a campaign for a jacket, he said, defined cool when he was growing up.
“Hopefully I can get a Starter jacket for all of the teams I played for,” he joked.
