Violent Gentlemen x LA KINGS Becomes one of First Filipino InSPIRED Collaboration to be sold at a major arena
As a people, Filipinos love baseball and it’s no secret that we really love our basketball. I think it is safe to say that we’ve all been to our share of Filipino Heritage nights even if it was only once in our lifetime, at least if you live near the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, or the Los Angeles Lakers, am I right? But how many times have we grabbed our hockey jerseys and raced to support the Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks on the ice? Well the love for hockey is growing at a rapid rate from our kababayan and the LA Kings are recognizing this trend and have capitalized by partnering with local Orange County clothing brand, Violent Gentlemen Hockey Club, to create some stylish merchandise for the upcoming Filipino Heritage night against the Dallas Stars on January 19th 2023 hosted by MYX.
If you have ever had the joy to attend one of these events, you know that you usually walk away with a basic shirt or hat that says the team name accompanied with a little Filipino Flag or Manila Sun and they call it a collab. But collaborations mean working together to create a work that infuses everyone's style and personality. Luckily for us, our friends over at Violent Gentlemen Hockey Club have made some magic to bring you merchandise that would make any pinoy hockey enthusiast proud. But before we get to the goods, this collab has been years in the making. We were able to talk to Production Manager, Vincent Apostol, on how Violent Gentlemen Hockey Club made this project come to life.
“Growing up as a first generation Filipino American playing ice hockey in Southern California, this project means so much more than just merchandise to me and many others just like me. As a company, Violent Gentlemen fully supports inclusiveness and understands the importance of representation, so naturally we jumped at the opportunity to put something together with the LA Kings for this special night. For the design, Brian Talbert, our co-owner and creative director, is the one who brought my ideas to life and he nailed it. I first became a Kings fan when I was 6 years old, so we had to throw it back to the logo from the 90s. The eight-ray sun is the most notable symbol of our culture and the flag, and we wanted it to be featured front and center. The three colors and stars of the Filipino flag and a traditional tattoo and textile pattern are incorporated to signify Filipino heritage and merged with both Kings and VG logos to depict unity across cultures.”
Like I mentioned, if you have ever been to any of these events, your ticket is usually accompanied with some free merch but this is one of the first times that the Filipino Heritage Night merchandise will be sold in store at the arena. Personally, I think the textile pattern is very reminiscent to Filipino tribal tattoos and that pullover hoodie is gonna get me a lot of compliments very very soon.
Remember, the best way to support our people is through funding their hard work and their dreams. Be sure to check out the merchandise shop at Crypto Arena on January 19th 2023 to invest in our community and to show the LA Kings that Filipinos are present in the hockey community and we aren’t going anywhere.
Written By Niko Del Rey
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