With Drake’s NOCTA brand partnering up with Venezia FC, we take a look at other similar musician-club linkups we’d love to see.
The rest of the world apparently doesn’t care about Drake losing a rap beef, because they still eat up his music and brands. Venezia FC, the Italian club that took the world by storm just a few years ago with their exquisite kits, is now on the Aubrey’s Angels wave. Earlier this month, the club announced a new sponsor in Drake’s NOCTA brand.
Drizzy has been a fanboy of soccer culture for a while now, including being a part of the FIFA 14 commercial, wearing a handful of football kits over the years, and betting six-figure sums on various matches. He recently name-dropped both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on Future’s 2022 song, “I’m On One.” Who would have guessed that a Future album would be the blastoff for the rift between the two rap titans? That’s another story for another day.
NOCTA, a subsidiary of Nike, has quietly infiltrated streetwear with appearances in shows like Top Boy and having star athletes like NBA sensation Victor Wembanyama preview the latest drops. It makes sense that teams would want to align themselves with Drake’s universal star power and NOCTA’s sleek (not quite demure, but almost) style.
“Drake’s value to any football club is undeniable, given his scale as a global superstar and the reach of his brand,” Brad Katsuyama, co-owner of Venezia told GQ Italia in Italian. The story revealed that Drake helped raise $40 million to save the club from bankruptcy after being promoted to Serie A. “This intersection of culture and sport is exactly where we want to be, and the chance to collaborate with a brand like NOCTA, who is moving along the same lines, is incredibly valuable.”
Venezia FC unveiled their NOCTA home kit earlier this week and it was…cool. A far cry from the thoughtful Kappa designs that put the club on the map as a must-know in the fashion world.
But this article isn’t a review of the NOCTA sponsorship. It is an editorial suggesting the many other partnerships between soccer clubs and music artists who have clothing brands or are fashion-forward. The intersection between music, sport, and fashion has grown exponentially. Some artists have committed to streetwear while others have broken boundaries in the luxury world with designer brands.
Tyler, The Creator’s Golf Le Fleur x Chelsea FC
Tyler, The Creator is known for his eccentricity and making quirky cool. He’s done a marvelous job with his Golf brand, and his evolution in fashion mirrors that of his music.
A major part of the streetwear boom with brands like Supreme in the early 2010s, Tyler started his own Golf Wang line that featured graphic tees and hoodies plastered with donuts and possessed cats. He’d later create Golf Le Fleur, a more nuanced and mature line filled with items ranging from luxury luggage and linens to knit cardigans with pearl buttons. In the spring of 2024, Tyler got a chance to design a line for Louis Vuitton, which featured an array of shoes, bags, jackets, and more in his signature pastel hues.
He’s also woven soccer influences into his work, especially with a soccer-inspired collection in 2022 ahead of the World Cup that featured Spanish footballer and fashion fanatic Héctor Bellerín in the campaign.
For some reason, Chelsea feels like a good fit for the multi-hyphenate’s creative juices to flow. The club has had somewhat of an identity crisis since new owner Todd Boehly has indiscriminately thrown money around, and Tyler’s eccentric style and versatility could play into whatever the club would be looking far.
From a fashion perspective, Chelsea’s divisive blue flame kit shows that the club isn’t afraid to push boundaries and the fact that they don’t have a primary kit sponsor as of now essentially would give the Loiter Squad ringleader a blank canvas.
Charli XCX x Lexington SC
Charli XCX’s “brat” movement is absolutely everywhere. Even presidential candidate and current vice president Kamala Harris has gotten in on the fun of using the shockingly bright green with a DGAF attitude. Lexington SC is a newer member of the USL. The club utilizes a similar slime green color and is all about community. It’s a fairly unknown club for such a global superstar to partner with, but what better way to show that “brat” is for everyone!
Central Cee’s Syna World x FC Barcelona
Rising superstar Central Cee is generally known as a Chelsea supporter, and even filmed his “Straight Back To It” video at Stamford Bridge. But the way he’s subtly marketed his Syna World streetwear brand is really brilliant, so it belongs with a club with one of the best marketing in the beautiful game: FC Barcelona.
The Spanish side has had innovative deals with Spotify and has players like two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, the stylish Raphinha, and teenage phenom Lamine Yamal, who won the 2024 EUROs with Spain. Syna World’s demographic is basically the team, which means this partnership would be as winning a combination as Cench and Dave on “Sprinter.”
Megan Thee Stallion x Houston Dash
Megan Thee Stallion has rallied millions of fans with her Hot Girl movement. This summer, she visited her hometown NWSL team, the Houston Dash, and people were loving it. Meg’s own style is an exciting blend of glamorous, country, and anime. The Dash is a team that is certainly in need of some star power after a tumultuous 2024 campaign. Meg could bring some fresh life by sprucing up the Dash’s uniforms, especially the simple light blue secondary kit.
Skepta’s Mains x Remo Stars Football Club
Skepta is a cornerstone of the British grime scene, but he’s also a proud Nigerian and can be regularly seen in one of the many fantastic Super Eagles kits from over the years. The BBK head honcho now has his own clothing brand called Mains. It’s a classy offering that has a sense of edginess through the use of leather, denim, and corduroy.
Remo Stars Football Club are a member of the Nigeria Premier Football League and are located in the Ogun State, which is where Skepta hails from. He was even named a chief. The Sky Blue Stars have given nine-time champion Enyimba FC some tough competition in the past even if they’ve had troubles with relegation. But now they are back in the big leagues and are off to a good start in this year’s CAF Champions League tournament. Having Skepta’s cosign and some fresh threads to play in might be the perfect way to keep momentum strong.
A$AP Rocky’s AWGE x Borussia Dortmund
A$AP Rocky is one of the most intriguing people at the crossover of music and fashion. His penchant for experimentation gave us divisive albums like Testing (I will defend this album against any critics) and merch collabs with Formula 1. Borussia Dortmund is a legacy club who isn’t afraid to push boundaries with its bright yellow kits. Both Flacko and the Bundesliga club are partners with PUMA as well, so this feels like a natural fit.
Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton x PSG
Paris Saint-Germain has a long history as one of the most fashionable clubs in all of soccer. Louis Vuitton is having a moment as it was heavily featured throughout the Paris Olympics and its menswear has gotten a boost of innovation with Pharrell Williams as its creative director.
PSG lost a lot of star power with the departure of Messi, Neymar, and now Kylian Mbappé, and the Parisian club could use an injection of liveliness from Skateboard P and the heritage of a hometown luxury brand. It would be pretty groundbreaking to have designer kits and why shouldn’t PSG be the club to do it?
