The Brooklyn Way: new Brooklyn Nets merchandise from designer Kid Super includes boost from Borough President Reynoso, modeling $995 leather jacket

It wouldn't be the first time. As I reported (link) in September 2015, both Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Brooklyn-based Mayor Bill de Blasio modeled new "Brooklynified" jerseys for the NHL's New York Islanders, about to move to the Barclays Center.

BP Reynoso with KidSuper founder Colm Dillane

Well, that didn't work out well, but there's indeed precedent for elected officials boosting a home team jersey. 

Remember Gov. Kathy Hochul with a Brooklyn Nets jersey in November 2021, or Sen. Chuck Schumer, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and Gov. George Pataki all with Nets jerseys, in January 2004, after the team was purchased?

Enter BP Reynoso

One surprising, but not shocking, variation is seeing Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso appear last October in a press release and photo boosting a new Brooklyn Nets merchandise collection, rocking a $995 leather varsity jacket, from the Brooklyn-based brand KidSuper.

The jacket boasts "Brooklyn" across the front, in (unacknowledged) Brooklyn Dodger-style script. It's surely part of parent BSE Global's effort to foster a new Brooklyn "ecosystem" of media, fashion, and more.

He didn't get paid. "No, Borough President Reynoso did not keep any of the clothes or apparel nor was he compensated in any way," his spokesperson Isabel Shepard said, responding to my query. Remember, Reynoso wisely declined or returned some generous gifts from Turkey, the country accused of currying favor with his predecessor, Adams.

The logic

Clockwise from top left: Leather jacket, $995;
snap back hats, $65;  pullover sweater,
$200; knit zip warm-up jacket, $240

I'm sure it can be justified in the BP's mind as boosting two Brooklyn businesses and stakeholders, the designer and the Nets, and thus within the broad boosterish purview of the job.

Fair enough.

I'd just wish it were accompanied by appropriate outrage when, for example, the arena hosts--but doesn't disclose--an event that causes private vehicles to double park on local streets or even on sidewalks. 

Reynoso was inside, like many other male pols, surely mindful that Satmar Hasidic Jews vote as a bloc. 

I should note that he has appeared, for example, at a July 2022 press conference called by BrooklynSpeaks to pursue accountability from New York State regarding Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park

From the press release

The Oct. 30, 2024 press release, Brooklyn Nets and KidSuper Partner to Launch Merchandise Collection Inspired by Brooklyn Culture, states, in part:

The Brooklyn Nets and celebrated Brooklyn cultural brand KidSuper, have partnered to launch a new bǝrō merchandise collection inspired by the borough’s vibrant culture and KidSuper’s playful, whimsical and bold artistry. This is the latest collection under bǝrō, the private label, premium merchandise line the Nets launched last season that combines sportswear with high fashion – something completely unique in the market.

The Nets are based in Brooklyn – a hotbed of creativity and eccentricity where art, fashion and sports intersect – and have been able to differentiate themselves by marrying sports with fashion in ways that transcend the basketball court. KidSuper, with deep-rooted Brooklyn connections, represents in fashion what the Nets represent in basketball: youthful, fearless and authentic. 

“The Brooklyn Nets have been intentional in our approach to retail and apparel, and our latest collaboration, a bǝrō collection with KidSuper – a brand who shares our deep passion for sports, culture and the power of community - highlights our dedication to incorporating authentic Brooklyn elements into everything we do,” said Andrew Karson, Executive Vice President of Marketing at BSE Global, parent company of the Nets. “We are committed to highlighting local tastemakers and leading creators from Brooklyn to showcase what makes the borough so special and share that with the world. Bringing our two global, Brooklyn-based, brands together to celebrate Brooklyn culture even further is another example of how we are continually engaging with our fans in new and unique ways that intersect basketball, fashion, and the arts - The Brooklyn Way. 

(Emphases added)

 The Brooklyn Way, of course, is a Brooklyn Nets/BSE Global slogan, and this part of of the emerging "ecosystem" pursued by BSE.

More from the press release

It states:

KidSuper was founded by Colm Dillane, a multi-faceted artist and fashion designer who lives and works in Brooklyn. Highly sought after in the fashion industry, LVMH, the global luxury goods corporation, awarded Dillane the 2021 Karl Lagerfeld Prize and in January 2023, he guest designed the Louis Vuitton Homme Autumn/Winter 2023 menswear collection. 

“Brooklyn represents the diversity of ideas, creating connections, meeting new people and the sense that all things are possible - I want KidSuper and our collection with the Brooklyn Nets to embody that energy,” said Colm Dillane, Founder, KidSuper. “This collection captures the spirit of Brooklyn in the clothing – the mixing of places and ideas and cultures and that feeling of excitement. As someone who started KidSuper only a few blocks away from Barclays Center, it is full circle to partner with the Nets – Brooklyn’s team. There’s so much iconography in the sport of basketball, let alone Brooklyn, so being able to create with both of those ideas as catalysts was amazing. There's no place more iconic than Brooklyn and representing the borough means a lot to me. It’s an honor to be part of the creative movement happening here.” 

To further emphasize the Brooklyn spirit and special sense of community found throughout the borough, the models featured in the collection’s campaign are all notable Brooklynites. In addition to Dillane, Nets players Nic Claxton and Jalen Wilson star in the creative, alongside musician, Laila! (daughter of iconic Brooklyn rapper, Mos Def), and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. The campaign – and the collection - is distinctly Brooklyn.

Again, the Brooklyn emphasis.

"Distinctly Brooklyn"

The Brooklyn Nets collection from KidSuper includes two leather jackets at $995, a knit warm-up jacket at $240, knit warm-up pants for $250, a knit pullover sweater for $200, a quarter-zip sweatshirt for $150, a zip hoodie for $150, a t-shirt for $55, two snapback hats at $65, and a bucket hat for $80.

Screenshot from KidSuper