In 2019 Kappa, the iconic sportswear brand based in Torino, started sponsoring some of the most famous esports teams in the world: Faze Clan from USA, Royal Never Give Up from China, Mad Lions from Spain and so on. What about Italy? In Italy everything took off in a different way, with the involvement of a brilliant hip hop artist and music-entrepreneur passionate about gaming… Manuelito co-founder of Machete Empire Records. Manuelito was just freshly nominated the new X-Factor judge when appeared in his first Kappa campaign, taking with him some fellow gamers that would become the Machete esports gaming team  

This was the start of 2 years non-stop collaboration between Machete and Kappa, a partnership brokered by Magnet that encapsulated all the best from both worlds. Between 2020 and 2022 Machete’s star featured in at least five different campaigns filled with bold visuals and gaming aesthetics.

Kappa also produced two limited capsule collections: one with Manuelito and one for the team’s official jersey, the iconic Kombat Part of the newest Kombat collection, a sportswear apparel that until then has always been a prerogative to sports team. Machete players were the protagonists of the video announcement and proudly wore it through all the online tournaments they played.

During summer 2022 the partnership moved on site and involved other key assets: The Kappa Futur Festival and AC Fiorentina soccer team. All Machete players were invited to the 2022 edition of their Music Festival in Torino for social amplification purposes, merging music, gaming and sportswear. A few days later Fiorentina, Kappa’s partner and one of the best football teams in Italy, invited Manuelito for a quick meet&greet and shirt exchange in the name of love for the game 

Key Takeaway