Matthew Charles Albertell Discusses Knick Fandom - Deserves Much Better
High fashion infused with old-money themes for the Knicks.
I started making Knicks-inspired pieces because I felt like the market was missing something.
There is plenty of Knicks merch out there. There are jerseys, basic tees, printed graphics, and the same recycled designs fans have seen for years. But I wanted to create something different — pieces that felt more personal, more elevated, and more connected to what being a Knicks fan actually means.
Knicks fandom is not casual. It is emotional. It is generational. It is the Garden, the noise, the heartbreak, the belief, and the feeling that when this team finally breaks through, it will mean more here than anywhere else. New York does not do quiet loyalty. We live with it. We argue about it. We carry it.
I wanted to start making truly unique things with remarkable embroidery. Every single piece is extensively thought out. Much of it is infused with the same type of heritage my main line embodies just with a sports mixture tailor made for The New York Knicks.
That is why I wanted the clothing to feel like more than standard fan apparel.
I wanted to make pieces that had texture, story, and permanence. Hand-sewn details. Embroidery. Small design choices that make the garment feel considered instead of mass-produced. Pieces that you could wear to the game, to dinner, around the city, or keep years from now as part of a specific moment in Knicks history.
The goal is not to make loud merch just for the sake of being loud. The goal is to make Knicks pieces that feel rare. Pieces that feel like they were made by someone who actually understands the fan base. The kind of clothing you do not find in a team store. The kind of piece that makes another Knicks fan stop you and ask where you got it.
That is what I am building with Viceroy and VXNATIONS.
A collection for fans who want something sharper. Something more original. Something that respects both the history of New York basketball and the style of the people who wear it.
This is Knicks fandom through a different lens — more crafted, more intentional, and more memorable.
Because being a Knicks fan has never been ordinary.
So the merch should not be ordinary either.
The emotion around this team is bigger than wins and losses. It is generational. It is fathers and sons. It is late nights at the Garden. It is disappointment, loyalty, noise, belief, and finally the feeling that something special is happening again.
The hand-sewn collection was made for that kind of fan.
The fan who does not want disposable merch. The fan who wants something with texture. Something with character. Something that looks like it belongs in a private club, a courtside tunnel, a brownstone closet, or framed years from now as a piece of the moment.
Each piece is intentionally slower, more detailed, and more considered. The embroidery, the placement, the materials, and the finishing all matter. These are not loud for the sake of being loud. They are quiet statement pieces — luxury sportswear with New York energy underneath it.
That is the difference.
A printed shirt can celebrate a game.
A hand-sewn piece can remember an era.
This collection is about turning a championship feeling into something physical. Something you can wear now, hold onto later, and look back on as part of the story.
Because the best Knicks pieces should not feel temporary.
They should feel like they were made for the people who believed before everyone else did.
