Rag & Bone Teams With Carmelo Anthony for Capsules and Jordan Brand Sneakers
Rag & Bone will introduce two limited-edition men’s collaborations with NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony and Jordan Brand. Split into two capsules, Rag & Bone has worked with Jordan Brand and Anthony on sneakers and T-shirts, and a separate five-piece apparel collection with Anthony.
The collections will be introduced Thursday at a Melo Made interactive presentation in New York.
Last month, Anthony signed a $2.4 million, veteran’s minimum deal with the Houston Rockets for one year.
Since meeting in New York more than 10 years ago, Anthony and Marcus Wainwright, founder and chief brand officer of Rag & Bone, have formed a close friendship centered on their mutual love of design. The basketball star has also been featured in Rag & Bone campaigns, and now they’ve become official design partners on a Jordan Brand collaboration capsule.
Both have been Jordan Brand sneakerheads since they were kids. Rather than select an earlier retro model, the duo decided on the Air Jordan XX, a silhouette they both agreed is underrated. “I think that it was a bit ahead of its time, but the shoe was always cool,” Anthony said. “This is a shoe I liked when I saw it, but it didn’t get its fair moment. I wanted to bring it back, rework it and reintroduce it to the market.”
Wainwright tried to balance Rag & Bone’s design philosophy with Anthony’s personal style while still maintaining the shoe’s original look. “I wanted to take something that was essentially iconic, but make it current, maintain the originality of it,” Wainwright added. The shoe will retail for $250.
In addition to the Air Jordan XX, 100 percent cotton T-shirts will also be sold by Jordan Brand and Rag & Bone. Each T-shirt, which retails for $50, will carry the Rag & Bone, Jumpman and Melo branding and will be available in two colorways — black featuring Rag & Bone’s exclusive camo print and an army version with a pop-orange neck tape along the back collar.
The capsule will be available online and in select Rag & Bone and Jordan retail locations worldwide.
In addition, a five-piece Rag & Bone x Carmelo Anthony collection was created with Anthony, from design inception to finalizing the fabric selection and crafting signature details.
Various details were incorporated into the capsule for ease and mobility. For example, seam-sealed outerwear in British woodland camo-print was constructed in water-resistant nylon with stretch panels for added functionality. There’s also a three-quarter length topcoat in Shetland wool, finished with a cashmere top collar and signature Rag & Bone Waterbury button. Another item is a hoodie in 100 percent Japanese fleece cotton, accentuated with pops of orange along the internal stitching and a reflective locker loop. Two styles round out the collection with selvage denim pant and a modular cargo pant. The capsule will be available on rag-bone.com and at select Rag & Bone stores worldwide.
The capsule ranges from $295 to $995. Both capsules launch at retail later this month.
This is the first in multiple drops of upcoming partnerships for Anthony, further extending his presence beyond sports. The Melo Made with Anthony event will have a preview of those partnerships.
Launch Gallery: Rag & Bone Releases Carmelo Anthony Collaboration
