There was no previous Fashion Meets Football weekend to show Juventus. David Bettenhausen and Chris Savino of Mundial Partners were building the idea alongside their other work, with a plan to bring football and fashion communities together in New York. They had to make the value of an event that had not happened yet clear enough for a major club to join it.
In a story for The Commercial Table, our partner Nirupam (Niru) Singh spoke with David and Chris about the proposal, the people it was built for, and why Juventus became the anchor partner of FMF’s first weekend.
Start with the people in the room
Juventus was preparing to launch its 2024/25 kit and wanted to reach an audience with a strong connection to fashion. Mundial’s idea began with that audience. Rather than pitch a generic football gathering, the team described a weekend where the club could meet artists, designers, creators and football supporters in settings that made sense for the new shirt.
The prospective guests were central to the case. Without attendance figures from an earlier edition, Mundial could still explain who would be in the room and why those people mattered to Juventus. The club became the largest paying partner for the inaugural weekend, a notable commitment to a concept that was still taking shape.
Give the idea a shape
A name and a mood board would not have shown a partner what it was buying. Mundial’s deck laid out a Thursday to Sunday program with distinct spaces for conversation, music, fashion and play. That gave Juventus a way to picture its role across the whole experience, from the kit launch to the moments when guests would wear the shirt themselves.
Lega Serie A’s US team came aboard before Juventus. That early support helped establish credibility while Mundial continued talking with clubs, venues and brands. Once Juventus committed, other partners could see the weekend more clearly too. Each yes made the next conversation more concrete.
Why Juventus fit
The partnership worked because the club made the football and fashion connection legible at a glance. Juventus had a timely product story; FMF had a community and a format that could bring that story into the physical world. The pitch placed the kit inside an experience, rather than asking the club to support an event in the abstract.
Four days, more than one reveal
The first FMF New York weekend moved from a rooftop cocktail party and a panel that turned into an impromptu performance with A$AP Ferg and Denzel Curry, then a party at The Standard, High Line and the Creator’s Cup. Guests encountered Juventus in different ways throughout the program. Some who attended the Thursday gathering returned on Sunday wearing the jersey to play.
Other moments could not have been promised in a deck. Chris recalled A$AP Ferg holding up the Juventus shirt in front of the crowd. The plan created room for that kind of spontaneous moment while giving the club a clear reason to be there from the start.
What came after the first yes
By the end of the weekend, Mundial had something it could not show in the original pitch: proof that this mix of people, places and football could work. FMF later brought the format to Miami, while Mundial carried its approach to projects with Manchester City and Inter Milan, as well as Flavours of the Game.
Adapted from Nirupam Singh’s October 14, 2026 reporting: How a deck got Juventus to pay — The Commercial Table