The 2017 Notre Dame football team will once again wear suit jackets for home games this fall in South Bend. Woolhorn by ESQ, a Chicago based company owned by Notre Dame alum, Ge Wang, will make make the Official Play Like a Champion Today sport coat worn by the Irish.
“It has honestly been in the back of my mind since I started ESQ,” Wang told Irish Sports Daily. “As a Notre Dame grad, we have very strong ties and connections to the University. This is a dream come true for me to do something for the University.
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The chance to take part in such a project may have been in the back of his mind over the years, but Wang also found inspiration from one of the leaders in the fashion industry.
“I just recently finished Phil Knight’s book (Shoe Dog), and he talked about how much joy he had the first time beating Oregon State wearing Nike,” explained Wang. “I would love to feel that same thing when Notre Dame gets back on the bus after beating Stanford to finish an undefeated season.”
Wang has built a reputation for outfitting the top names in sports and entertainment such as Chance the Rapper, Jaylon Smith, Marcus Mariota, Kyle Long, and Matt Forte, just a few of the hundreds of names who keep coming back to ESQ.
When it comes to the jacket the Irish will wear in 2017, it comes down to quality and customization for each player and coach.
“The basic tenants of ESQ still apply,” stated Wang. “What that means is all the fabrics of Woolhorn will still be English and Italian fabrics. We are going to have handmade elements in everything we do, and quality is second-to-none. Each lapel button hole is made by hand, and that one button hole takes 300 stitches. The color of the lapel buttonhole will also match the lining.
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“We did a fitting for the entire team at Notre Dame. Each player got to choose his own lining, which is pretty unique. We got to get something individualized for each player.”
Wang is grateful for the opportunity and hopes to see his alma mater transition back to greatness with the jacket being part of the process.
“The goal is to win a National Championship,” said Wang. “I owe a lot to the Notre Dame staff from Coach Brian Kelly to Chad Klunder to Ryan Grooms and all the way to Jack Swarbrick for approving this project.
You can see the jacket in person tonight at ISD's Happy Hour at ESQ August 4th at 5:00 p.m. CT.
Get the Play Like a Champion Jacket here: Woolhorn
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