Champion turned a faded 1990s label into a streetwear hit via collabs.

Champion had been nearly ubiquitous in the 1990s; by the late 2000s the market had fragmented and its sweatshirts had lost relevance.

Rather than launch a new image, Champion leaned into its heritage fleece and its catalog of collaborators, marrying the Reverse Weave with Supreme, Undefeated, Vetements, A Bathing Ape, Wood Wood and more.

The collabs kept the name in the conversation and let Champion's product be re-contextualized as streetwear, while the main collection stayed at accessible price points — 'like having a new brand with a hundred-year history.'

The strategy scaled: by 2017 Champion hit $1B, and in 2018 global Champion revenue outside the mass channel grew more than 50% to $1.36B, with Europe and Asia leading the way.

Champion's sales outside the mass channel rose 50%+ year over year to $1.36B in 2018, from about $1B in 2017, driven by Europe and Asia as well as the US.

The Reverse Weave fleece and century-old archive gave it authentic heritage.

Streetwear designers wanted a legacy uniform to reinterpret.

Kept the core line cheap and broad, so collab heat did not become a niche.

Activewear and athleisure were rising while general apparel stagnated.

A dormant brand can be revived by borrowing credibility from others; deliberate capsule collabs keep a name alive while the core range stays accessible.

Champion became a core growth driver for parent HanesBrands, which in 2024 sold the global Champion business to Authentic Brands Group for a transaction value of $1.2B, with up to $300M more contingent on performance, to simplify and pay down debt.