Reigning Champ Embracing Tennis, Launches Prince Collaboration

Tennis has long offered a meaningful inspiration for Vancouver-based streetwear brand Reigning Champ since starting in 2007. That passion for tennis now comes alive with a new 10-piece collaboration with classic tennis brand Prince after a variety of other recent tennis-related efforts.

“We are inspired by the culture of sport, and tennis arguably has the deepest cultural impact of any sport, as it has been the catalyst for the emergence of the entire sportswear-athleticwear field over the last 100 years,” says Mike Belgue, Reigning Champ’s brand director, “so it’s always been a reference point for Reigning Champ, since day one.”

The June 28 collaboration with Prince includes a mix of Prince classics—such as the Original Graphite 107 racket—and Reigning Champ staples, both a crewneck and hoodie sweatshirt fill the collaboration, along with a handful of other hardgoods, accessories and apparel.

Working with Prince—on the heels of a Reigning Champ collaboration with Racquet Magazine—was an easy choice for the brand. “Thinking about iconic eras in tennis, and the culture and gear surrounding those eras, the mid-’80s to the mid-’90s is such a highlight, and you can’t think of the icons in that era without seeing Prince,” Belgue says.

MORE: Vancouver’s Reigning Champ Turns Manufacturing Know-How Into Hot Collabs Across The World

He cites Gabriela Sabatini, Andre Agassi and Michael Chang all using the Prince Original Graphite 107. “It became ‘the’ definitive player’s racket of not one, but multiple generations,” he says. “To still have access to such an iconic piece of gear and make it our own, how could we not partner with them?”

“It’s such a unique racket in that it is oversize, which traditionally was the territory of the rec player, but has this amazing control and playability,” Belgue says, “so it’s still completely relevant today, and that is very unique in the tennis space.”

Throughout the collection—crew sweatshirt, hoodie sweatshirt, shorts, t-shirt, bucket hat, visor, racket and case, can of tennis balls and towel—the design theme remains constant, with a heavy play of white accented by green pinstripes. “Prince green, from the era mentioned above, was on everything, from their tour racket bags to the pinstripes on the Original Graphite 107 in its original form,” Belgue says. “One can’t separate Prince from green, so for us, there was no question as to what color we were going to lean into.”

Prince crafted the hardgoods, such as the racket and sourcing pure white felt for the competition tennis balls, while Reigning Champ made all the apparel at its facilities in Vancouver.

“We really wanted to lean into the antithesis of exclusive, country club tennis, and instead highlight the public court grinders, out there playing in whatever they are comfortable in,” Belgue says. “For us, we’ve always played in sweats, mixed with performance apparel once the match is underway, so that’s exactly how we planned the collection.”

The 10-piece Prince collection follows a four-piece effort with Racquet Magazine that features sweatpants, a crewneck sweatshirt, shorts and a polo. Reigning Champ also has a mix of other tennis-related items, from their own branded tennis balls to a towel, water bottle and floor mat.

“We have always had pieces in our collection that we play tennis in, so these last two tennis-focused projects are simply alignment with partners that inspire us,” Belgue says.

Does he believe this outward-facing focus on tennis will continue? “Absolutely.”