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Iconic cap, born in WNY and now a global fashion staple, will be centerpiece of May 9 party at Buffalo flagship store
Press Release
It’s the official cap of Major League Baseball, the National Football League and National Basketball Association. It’s a cultural icon that has been celebrated in music, featured on screen and stage, and graced runways and red carpets.
For more than six decades, the 59FIFTY from New Era Cap has been revolutionizing headwear around the world – and it was all born in Buffalo.
On May 9, New Era will celebrate 59FIFTY Day with a day-long party at the Buffalo flagship store at 160 Delaware Ave.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will include an in-store DJ, Lloyd’s Taco Truck, and an installation of mini 59FIFTY caps in the building’s main lobby – along with exclusive drops and customizations.
“New Era took a simple piece of baseball uniform, the baseball cap, and created a globally recognized, iconic product that has become a staple in fashion, culture and sports,” said Mark Maidment, senior vice president of brand at New Era Cap. “Authentic to its core, the 59FIFTY fitted cap is a cultural touchpoint; it has been a canvas for creativity, self-expression and team affiliation for over half a century. The iconic nature of this product and the creativity it inspires has forged a fashion-forward movement that is changing the way we think about the influence of sport and its relationship to culture and fashion. This fitted cap, with its instantly recognizable gold visor sticker, has connected people in countries all around the world, building a 59FIFTY Cap community of followers, collectors and sport fans.”
The flagship store will offer exclusive New Era-branded 59FIFTY Day caps and special patches and pins unique to Buffalo. Customers can also receive free cap customization with the purchase of any 59FIFTY.
New Era images courtesy of The Martin Group for New Era Cap
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History
It started in 1954 when Harold Koch, son of company founder Ehrhardt Koch, envisioned a more contemporary design for the original professional baseball caps. His innovative design included a 22-step production process that injected more style into the cap, including strengthening the visor stitching and creating stiffer crowns suited for more defined logos.
The 59FIFTY was born.
The result not only changed what ballplayers were wearing – it became part of the creative movement of streetwear, which adopted New Era’s design, incorporating the 59FIFTY into its fashion-driving, sneaker-pairing style.
The caps in the 59FIFTY Day collection include five new New Era branded designs with special pins and clips available in stores and online.
New Era will also launch new MLB, NFL and NFL collections for 59FIFTY Day. The MLB and NFL caps feature historic logos of teams from the 1954 season – the year the 59FIFTY was born. The NBA collection features select current NBA logos on classic-colored caps, and a special MLB headwear collection delivers a 100% genuine leather cap design using MLB Cooperstown logos from select teams of the 1954 season.
To shop the collection, visit Shop59FIFTY.com.