Tennis brand Prince partners with Dyne on first apparel collection

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Oct 3, 2017

Authentic Brands Group announced on Tuesday the launch of the first Prince lifestyle apparel collection. The American-born tennis brand partnered with 2017/18 International Woolmark Prize US Regional winner Dyne on the tennis-inspired apparel collection, which launched exclusively at Lane Crawford.

 
Founded in 1970, Prince is a global racquet sports brand that has sponsored athletes such as Andre Agassi, John Isner, Lucas Pouille, Michael Chang and Ramy Ashour among others. The brand offers racquets, footwear, tennis balls and ball machines, and has expanded into lifestyle apparel and accessories in fall 2017.
 
“Tennis is infiltrating pop culture; we are seeing its influence in movies, on the runway, and in street wear,” said Nick Woodhouse, President and CMO of ABG. “Our strategy to launch Prince lifestyle apparel is perfectly timed to this confluence of trends.”

Prince selected Dyne as the partner for its first lifestyle collaboration due to their shared tennis-inspired design aesthetic. Christopher Bevans in 2015 launched Dyne, the sportswear-inspired menswear label, after having worked with brands such as Nike and Sean John during his 20-year career. The label in July was announced as the menswear winner of the Woolmark Prize US Regional.
 
“We’re thrilled to partner with Prince; as a life-long fan, I grew up seeing legends like Michael Chang and Andre Agassi using Prince and remembering how iconic their looks were at that moment,” said Bevans. “Having this opportunity to bring our Dyne vision together with Prince is a life-long dream and we’re excited to combine our shared visions.”
 
The 7-piece Dyne x Prince collection features cross functional fabrics and details, such as eco-stretch jersey, laser perforation for ventilation, taped seam construction, waterproof zip hand pockets and reflective logos. Each piece also features an NFC chip that allows consumers to interact with the product. Using an Android phone, the code activates once it is scanned and provides details on the garment, the background of the collaboration, brand imagery, a care label and the Dyne SoundCloud page.
 
Prince has a second collaboration on the way with streetwear label Publish, which will be sold at select US retailers this season. A full line will launch in spring 2018 at specialty stores and department stores, including Brands Unlimited in the US, Itochu in Japan and Fleece Factory in Canada.