The Tamesis
Partner list
The most obvious way to ride the Knicks wave is to become an official sponsor. This provides a direct connection to the team and a presence in the stadium in a way that no other brand can get.
Kith founder Ronnie Fieg made an early bet on his hometown team’s merchandise. Fieg’s first collection for the team was the Kith x Nike x Knicks collection, launched in 2020. In 2022, Feige became the Knicks’ first creative director, responsible for developing in-house product for the team and overseeing court design, annual City Edition jerseys, a permanent store in the Garden, Giorgio Armani collaborations and playoff capsules that drop each round.
“My goal, and I think [MSG Sports Corp CEO James L.] Dolan’s goal is to make the Knicks a global brand,” Feige said.
Feige mapped out this year’s playoff series before the season even started. “I have full confidence in my team,” Feige said. “I’m willing to take the risk because it’s my little contribution to uniting the stars and making sure we get into the playoffs.” Feige joked that there will be special merchandise drops if the team wins the finals.
In addition to official Knicks merchandise, there are opportunities. Lifestyle brand New York or Nowhere began as co-founder Liz Eswein’s @newyorkcity Instagram account, later expanded into DTC merchandise that was recognized on the city’s streets for its “NYON” logo, and ended with a partnership with the Knicks. The brand has built its business on high-profile collaborations with the Mets, Yankees, New York Liberty and saturday night livewait. CEO and co-founder Quincy Moore said they now expect sales of the Knicks Finals series to reach seven figures. Moreover, during the playoffs, one-half of the merchandise purchased in their store was NYON x Knicks products, and overall in-store sales increased by 50% during the same period. Just last week, they sold “thousands” of their most popular style, the Knicks motto T-shirt, which they reimagined as “The Finals or Nowhere” in this capsule collection.
NYON’s Lafayette Street store is known for its long lines. But Moore said demand from Knicks fans has led to lines that have stretched significantly over the past six weeks. Additionally, he added that this is their largest series to date in terms of production and total volume, and meeting the overall demand for Knicks product has been “a huge challenge.”
female focus
Laney Crowell, Saie’s founder, attended a Knicks game in December 2024 and said she was “fascinated” by the fans’ passion, especially in a time of distracted attention. The biggest gap she observed, though, was the group of women in attendance. “I noticed how many women were participating, but no brand was speaking to the women in the audience,” Crowell said.
Crowell began conversations almost immediately and signed on as an official partner ahead of the start of the 2025-26 season. She quickly integrated the Saie brand into every aspect of the female-oriented Knicks economy, from buying courtside seats for the reality show The Nader Sisters, sourcing vintage Knicks jackets as influencer gifts, and MSG suite gifts (“50% of the people in the suite were women, and almost everyone was tagging” [the brand]”, she says). Saie conducts makeup classes for the Knicks City Dancers and named her setting spray “City Set” after the team. A quick scroll through many of the dancers’ Instagram and ShopMy profiles reveals Saie products and affiliate links.
