Fashion entrepreneurs in football

It seems that football and fashion like to talk to each other. In addition to the countless co-labs between brands and clubs, which have become necessary in the sector, fashion managers are now also investing in football. The last one to do it is President and CEO of Gucci Marco Bizzarri, who recently acquired the majority of the shares of Rubierese, a Rubiera-based club, in the province of Reggio Emilia, registered in the second category championship, for amateurs. «Football and sport in general mean passion, they go beyond logic,» Marco Bizzarri stated. «Rubierese has given me many happy days and many friends that have stayed with me over time. It allowed me to focus on football and my studies during a time when getting lost would have been extremely easy».

He also specified: «I have great esteem for the partners of this new beginning, people with whom I shared many games and who are carrying on the new Rubierese project with commitment and dedicated time. A project for young people, to support them, that goes beyond football as such, allowing them to find a safe side with respect to different choices and to stay together in a healthy way,» the Manager concluded. Despite his travels around the world, Marco Bizzarri proves to feel extremely attached to his city’s team. A passion that has been enthusiastically emphasized by the club's fans and by the Gucci CEO himself who, when he played, was defined as the Bettega of Rubiera, in reference to former Juventus player Roberto Bettega.

However, the news of a fashion entrepreneur in football is nothing new. In 2021, Carlo Rivetti, founder of Stone Island and a native of Modena, took over the shares of Modena football club, a Serie C team, namely the third and final professional league in Italy. Rivetti, like Bizzarri, has never hidden his passion for football, thus choosing to purchase the Emilian club from the previous ownership. And as they say in football: one shot, one goal. In fact, this year, in his first full season as president, Modena won Serie C’s Group B title and was promoted to Serie B, a goal the club had been missing for five seasons. My family and I wanted to own a football team for a long time," Rivetti told MFF. «As soon as there was a chance to make this dream of ours come true, the opportunity to take over Modena arrived thanks to former owner Romano Sghedoni who allowed us to be here. Our company was born in Ravarino, in the province of Modena, and we took over the club in order to give back to the territory what it has given us in many years of activity». About the club’s promotion to Serie B: «An immense joy and a great happiness for me, my children and the entire Rivetti family. A joy to be shared with the city and the beautiful province it represents».

Then there is Renzo Rosso. The president of Otb group, who in 2016 was also fashion partner of AC Milan through the Diesel brand, took over Lanerossi Vicenza in 2018, a Vicenza-based football team registered in the Serie B championship. Through the Diesel brand, it takes care of the aesthetics of the match kits and acts as a sponsor on the jerseys. However, it is not only about the match kits, but also sweatshirts, T-shirts, accessories and various objects for the fans. Yet, that of Vicenza is not the first adventure in the football world for Rosso. In fact, the patron of OtbB group performed a sporting miracle with Bassano Virtus, a football club based in Bassano del Grappa, of which Rosso was president from 1996 to 2018. With the entrepreneur from Veneto, the club won the Serie D championship in 2005 and came to play in the professional Serie C. In 2018, Rosso took over Lanerossi Vicenza, carrying out a merger between Bassano Virtus and the biancorossi and creating the new club Lanerossi Vicenza, which then arrived in Serie B in 2020.

Another entrepreneur in the Italian fashion industry who has invested in football is Maurizio Setti, founder of the Antistress group, which controls the Manila Grace brand. Setti is also the President of Serie A’s Hellas Verona and majority partner of Mantova. In 2020, on the other hand, in Los Angeles, a pool of fashion-related female entrepreneurs, such as Natalie Portman and Jessica Chastain, founded the Angel city football club, which is playing in the National women's soccer league this year. As is evident, all these people are united by the choice to invest in realities of their territory, regardless of the category. In their various statements, it has emerged that they all feel a certain liaison with the club of their city, bringing a bit of football into their daily lives in addition to their fashion commitments. Besides, it is clear now. There is a common thread linking fashion and football. (All rights reserved)