Tommy Hilfiger is the new global partner of Premier League team Liverpool. The launch has been buzzy – but does it reflect true fans, or an ever-growing divide within the game?
At the start of 2026, Liverpool FC announced the beginning of their new brand partnership with Tommy Hilfiger, the club deemed it a ‘landmark new partnership’ that would bring together both culture and heritage.
This collaboration is one of many examples of how fashion, namely high fashion, has begun to solidify its place in the modern and global game.
However, we wanted to know how this collaboration has been received by fans.
Globalisation has become a buzzword within football, with almost every club desperate to expand its global reach to increase eyeballs and engagement.
Liverpool FC are already partners with Standard Chartered, Expedia, Google Pixel, Japan Airlines, PayPal, Peloton, Nivea Men, and recently reconnected with Adidas, making them the highest earners of all Premier League teams last season.
Their overall revenue was more than £700 million, made up of endorsements, partnerships, as well as their on-pitch success after winning the Premier League.
On the surface, this is undoubtedly a positive development; the club is successful in all areas. But how much do these partnerships and collaborations reflect the fans?
The collection starts at £50 and reaches up to £450 for some apparel. It comprises a variety of pieces, including varsity jackets, leather loafers, trousers, belts, jumpers, and more.
It is designed to be a smart and sophisticated take on traditional merchandise. The Tommy Hilfiger colours also coincidentally reflect Liverpool’s colours, so are in keeping with their style.
“It only further perpetuates the alienation between fans and the team.”
Ben stone
We spoke to two lifelong Liverpool fans, both of whom are regular purchasers of Liverpool merchandise and kits, to see how they felt about the partnership and collection.
For Finn Kearney, he understood the financial aspect of the partnership, “The collaboration was launched to improve Liverpool’s marketing in the USA. Tommy Hilfiger is seen as a trendy and desirable product. With TH being a US-based company, Liverpool merchandise helps spread association with the club.”
From an initial look through the collection, he believes it would be something he’d buy: “The [collab] offers smart and desirable designs that allow Liverpool merchandise to be worn in day-to-day outfits.”
However, for Ben Stone, another Liverpool fan, the collection was of no interest to him: “Before looking at the prices, it was a no; after looking at the prices, it was a hard no.”
He did not feel that the partnership and following collection was a reflection of fans, and instead was another expensive addition to the club’s catalogue.
“The two [Liverpool and TH] couldn’t be more polarising. Tommy Hilfiger is an American middle/upper-class preppy brand. Liverpool, in contradiction, is a major English football team with deep working-class roots,” he said. “It only further perpetuates the alienation between fans and the team.”
Much like the Hilfiger collection, Liverpool’s official Adidas merch is not cheap. Home shirts start at £85 and only increase when adding a player’s name or number to upwards of £100.
The rest of the sporting collection ranges from £30 to £180 for jackets, shirts and football boots. This is an issue that has taken over the football market, often pricing out the ‘real’ match-going fans.
In response to the price hike, the counterfeit shirt-selling market has blown up. Online searches for fake football shirts have skyrocketed by 514% since the 2021 Euros, according to Corsearch.
“This significant counterfeit market of £180 million for Premier League football shirts is equivalent to almost a third of legitimate sales last year (£489 million). Premier League clubs, kit manufacturers, and brands are losing out due to the growth in counterfeiting and an estimated £246 million in football shirt sales per year,” they say.
Finn noted the gradual increase in price over the last few years: “Liverpool FC have increased prices drastically since COVID-19. To buy a match shirt online will set you back nearly £70. To make it ‘authentic’ or to put a name on the back will see prices surge to over £100. Between £40-60 for Kids/Juniors,” he told us.
“[This only] prices out working-class, local fans from obtaining LFC merchandise.”
Like merchandise, tickets are even harder to obtain, and prices have also soared. As a match-going fan, Finn has seen a change in who is at the game and partnerships like this are partially the reason why.
“Liverpool FC’s collaborations with brands like Tommy Hilfiger represent a clear focus shift from the match-going fan to the ‘tourist fans’. Whilst I am not discrediting fans who support Liverpool for whatever reason, they are more likely to spend money at Anfield than the average season ticket holder,” he explained.
“Many of them purchase [one] hospitality ticket a season and are more inclined to spend their money in the club shop to collect memorabilia of their trip. This idea is shown clearly with LFC only allowing bags from the club shop into Anfield, barring tiny handbags.”
For many fans, this partnership unfortunately does reinforce the idea that football is slowly becoming just a money-making machine. With global reach, merchandise like the Tommy Hilfiger collection will likely sell and expand the brand of Liverpool.
Fans like Finn and Ben understand that for the club to succeed, they must grow and attract more eyeballs from around the world, but it does seem that in order to do that, they must sacrifice the life-long fans who can no longer afford to financially support their team.
Feature image courtesy of the Tommy Hilfiger Newsroom.