Exclusive: Fashion of Calcio unites Italian football community in NYC | OneFootball

As Serie A continues its surge in North America, Wayne Girard was sent on-site for the league’s ‘Serie A Day: The Fashion of Calcio’ in Manhattan.

Serie A’s North American side has been up to quite a few new things. It has recently signed an official collaboration with Italian-American cooking creator QCP (Gianluca Conte) who averages more than a million views on TikTok per post. In order to streamline access and sponsors, Allied Sports has become an official partner to support the domestic fanbase and ‘align with like-minded brands.’

While CBS Sports continues to deliver a quality streaming service and match time analysis, the game has physically arrived as Italian football has transcended from some obscure, distant product on a grainy satellite channel, into an event delivered to all five senses.

It further connects and informs new fans with the Serie A weekly newsletter, and presents commercial strength and an opportunity for directors from the clubs with office space at the league’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.

Now, in a physical way, Serie A has united the community with a one of a kind viewing party, featuring its new partner, Classic Football Kits. CFK opened space at 323 Canal St., Manhattan, earlier in the year, and while it now seems like a ‘no brainer’ considering the company has the largest collection of new and hard-to-find kits in the world – and more than 17,000 from Serie A clubs alone –  no other league or club previously imagined leveraging their brand strength.

The line waited until 11am this past Saturday to get store access ahead of Milan hosting Juventus. As people poured in, as did the refreshments from leading Italian restaurants such as Ribalta, and Settepani. Even a massive cheese wheel made an entrance. A raffle took place for a signed Christian Pulisic Milan kit as well as other one-of-a-kind pieces, as fans browsed between the racks of vintage and current Italian and international kits alike.

Catching up with Andy Mitchell, Lega Serie A’s North America CEO, he seemed thrilled with the day:

Andy, did you think it would be such a successful turnout?

“There’s a great fanbase of Serie A fans in New York City and the surrounding areas so we were confident we could draw a good crowd. But what I didn’t expect was the level of enthusiasm for the event and how engaged the Calcio community is in the area. It was like being at a reunion where everyone didn’t necessarily know each other, but shared passion for Calcio as it brought them together.”

How did the idea of a partnership with Classic Football Shirts begin, and does Saturday’s showing pave the way for future North American events?

“Given the history of Serie A and the importance of fashion in Italian culture, a Classic Football Shirts and Lega Serie A partnership was natural. As soon as we were connected, it was more a matter of figuring out what we would take on together, not if.

“Saturday’s event was just the kick-off. We have a video series in the works where we tell fan stories with vintage shirts and classic highlights, and are starting to plan Serie A Day: The Fashion of Calcio event in Miami in Los Angeles in early 2025.

Mikey Kantaris was helping out at the event, said he thinks “it exceeded everyone’s expectations,” and further added “So many more people came in that we expected… we knew there’s a big community of Calcio fans but seeing it in person is a different experience.

“I met so many great people and learned how they fell in love with the sport.”

The event proved that Serie A is not only on the rise, but has a massive future for pulling people together. With some out-of-the-box thinking, it’s now been able to attract new fans to the most beautiful culture of the beautiful game while providing an outlet to bring people together. With the two more like-minded events earmarked on the calendar and personal storytelling, Serie A will continue its rise with ingenuity with fan recognition and support.