Lauren McDavid launches premium fanwear label

Interior designer Lauren McDavid, the wife of NHL star Connor McDavid, has launched a premium apparel brand ‘Sports Club Atelier,’ which aims to “elevate sportswear into wearable memorabilia”.

On the brand’s Instagram, McDavid states that Sports Club Atelier was launched to redefine sportswear “by blending high fashion with fandom to create quality, collectable apparel”.

McDavid adds: “It’s not just merch, it’s a movement”.

Each collection drop is expected to be limited and “curated” with a focus on craftsmanship and exclusivity, targeting what McDavid calls a “gap in the market” for female-specific fanwear and more fashion-forward merchandise.

In a video interview with the Edmonton Oilers, McDavid said: “I'm constantly trying to find ways to place my creative eye on the different projects that I'm working on. I'm inspired by fashion, even with my interiors, and this is just an amazing way for me to use my creativity and create these capsule collections.

“The whole point of this collection is to create fashion-forward sportswear pieces. It's a unisex line, but really, I am trying to target women here. The reason that I started this was because I was getting a lot of messages just about the jackets we had been doing for the playoffs in previous years and I saw a gap in the market.”

Lauren McDavid’s Sports Club Atelier launches debut collection with NHL team Edmonton Oilers

For the debut collection, ‘The Legacy Line,’ McDavid has collaborated with her husband’s NHL team, the Edmonton Oilers, and draws inspiration from collegiate sports culture, the Princess Diana era and vintage sports pieces.

The first drop features collegiate-inspired sweatshirts, complete with the Oilers crest and ‘Oil County’ embroidered on the back, ‘EO’ adorned graphic T-shirts, and a half-zip fleece pullover with ‘Premium Hockey Club’ emblazoned on the back. There is also a very fashion-forward corset, retailing for 75 Canadian dollars, corduroy baseball hats, and even a hair claw clip with ‘Edmonton Finest’ on, designed to elevate game day style.

There is also a focus on jackets, with McDavid calling the navy Letterman jacket, with its vintage-style lettering and patches, a hero piece of the debut collection.

McDavid added: “All the jackets are really our hero pieces, just because they're such high quality, you can really feel the weight to them. They have beautiful quilting on the inside, real leather, and just every detail is very craftsman and just really a lot of thought is put into it.

“It's one of those pieces that you can kind of carry down generation to generation. It will last and be timeless forever.”

When it comes to what’s next from the sportswear label, McDavid said: "This is just the beginning, we’re planning on expanding the brand and hopefully, reaching other fans on other teams.

“The next collection, we're hoping to drop before playoffs and that will have an entirely different line of items."

Sports Club Atelier’s debut limited-edition collection is available to pre-order exclusively with Ice District Authentics, the home of Edmonton Oilers and Oil Kings merchandise. Prices range from 25 to 450 Canadian dollars.