NEW YORK -- Tigers center fielder Max Clark showed off his apparel collection with Baseball Lifestyle 101 in a meet-and-greet with fans at the MLB Flagship Store in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon.
BL101 dropped three dripped-out youth sweatshirts as a part of the MLB x Baseball Lifestyle Exclusive Collection, available exclusively at the MLB Flagship Store. The BL101 x Max Clark Collection, launched on May 1, features authentic streetwear -- designed with Clark’s help -- in orange and blue colors to represent the Tigers organization.
Clark, 21, enjoyed the opportunity to give back and connect with younger fans.
“What we’re doing with Baseball Lifestyle is growing the game to the youth,” Clark told MLB.com. “It’s going to be huge for the next generation of players. They all look up to us, and I was doing the same thing five, six years ago.”
CEO Josh Shapiro started BL101 as an Instagram account in 2013. With the help of co-owner Bill Rom, the social media and apparel company has grown into an influential brand blending baseball culture, fashion and lifestyle.
That intersection married two of Clark’s main passions -- baseball and fashion -- which is part of why he’s been wearing BL101 apparel since elementary school.
“As a kid, you want to feel like you’re a baseball player,” Clark said. “You want people to know that you’re a baseball player -- an ‘if you know, you know’ kind of thing. That’s the line we’ve walked.”
Clark is a fundamental part of this. He is at the frontlines of the design process, sharing ideas with the creative team about new products and styles. His collection includes hoodies, tees, court shorts and bomber jackets.
While designing clothes is new for Clark, he has always been drawn to fashion as a form of self-expression. In the Minor Leagues, Clark designed his own cleats -- fitting for a self-described sneakerhead -- to match team uniforms, drawing inspiration from his favorite TV shows and landmarks throughout the city of Detroit. He wears diamond chains, has full-sleeve tattoos and collects watches.
His goal, he says, is to be himself.
“I think it’s important for people to express themselves in the way they want to,” Clark said. “There’s so many different fashion styles in the game, off the field. You see the tunnel fits. You see Jazz [Chisholm Jr.], [Ronald] Acuña Jr., [Jack] Flaherty. None of us are there to model. But it makes us feel good. It’s what we want to do. Having that expressive freedom, it’s been cool to see it grow within the game.”
Clark has drawn inspiration from pioneers of baseball’s past, like Ken Griffey Jr., the Hall of Fame outfielder whose iconic Air Griffey Max 1 sneaker line symbolized his cultural impact in the 1990s. Much like The Kid, Clark takes his own distinctive style onto the baseball field.
“I’ve always been a fashion person,” Clark said. “Those things have carried into what we’re creating now for the next generation of me.”
That includes the MLB NYC dripped-out sweatshirts, which are only available at the NYC Flagship store and can be purchased just in time for the holidays.