This story appears in the SLAM x KITH Special Edition Issue. Published on November 11, 2022 at slamonline.com.
Like all native New Yorkers who witnessed the East Coast dominance of Patrick Ewing, Anthony Mason and Co., the moment John Starks turned the corner and rose up for his iconic poster dunk on Horace Grant and His Airness, the image of the 6-3 guard’s crisp white jersey flying through the air was seared into the memory of an 11-year-old Ronnie Fieg.
Wearing his favorite player’s number during his days playing for the Mid Queens Fresh Meadows league, the Queens native grew up in the easternmost borough religiously watching every Knicks game with his father while the walls of his room lay rife with posters of Doc Rivers, Derek Harper, Hubert Davis and Greg Anthony, his “OG heroes.” Whether it was the ’94 Finals run or Larry Johnson’s legendary 4-point play against the Pacers with time expiring, “These moments were bigger than basketball to me,” Fieg says. “They defined my youth.”
As the founder and owner of the lifestyle brand Kith, Fieg and his ever-extensive collection of collaborative installments continues to be informed by the brands that formalized his adolescence—such as the company’s Coca-Cola branded apparel pieces and its redesigned BMW vehicles. But just one has been able to include both New York City and its hometown Knicks, making Fieg’s newest position as the organization’s Creative Director that much more sacred.
Yes, you read that right. The man who brought you the past two years of sleek City Edition uniforms while continuing to cohabitate with the biggest sports and fashion brands on the globe—The Swoosh, Versace, Bergdorf Goodman and Asics, just to name a few—is now leading the creative direction of the New York Knicks. (READ THE FULL STORY HERE.)