Kevin Leonel is the designer turning sports jerseys into custom streetwear

Kevin Leonel is a streetwear designer from New York City. Major League Baseball players are some of his esteemed clientele. 

The fashion designer is known for repurposing and reimagining sports jerseys and memorabilia into brand new pieces like cardigans, jackets and hoodies. In January, he made a Philadelphia Phillies Bryce Harper-inspired kimono. After Lionel shared it on Instagram, Harper reached out to the designer. The exchange ended with Leonel making the pro baseball player a custom piece. Now, other major leaguers are wearing his work. 

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MLB players are clamoring for @Kevinleonel ‘s handmade streetwear created from sports jerseys

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Leonel spoke with In The Know as he worked on a piece for former Boston Red Sox player Manny Ramirez. 

“I do everything by myself. I do all the cutting, I do all the sewing, I do even the research myself,” Leonel told In The Know. “So it starts to tell a story after a while. The colors that are being picked, the team jersey, working with a certain player. It all ties into a certain story.” 

Leonel has designed for a slew of baseball players, including the San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado and former New York Yankee’s Clint Frazier.

“My hope one day is to take this worldwide,” Leonel said. “To sell a piece — it takes a lot of effort. You work on it for so long, and for someone to actually use their hard-earned money to buy one, it just feels very special.” 

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