California Apparel News

When San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman decided to retire from the National Football League last spring, he wasn’t taking a retreat from his career completely. The pro-athlete, also known as “Lights Out,” already has a men's and women’s tee shirt and hat brand that he coined after his swift moniker.

Nowadays, athletes are taking more than a glance at fashion, they are taking an entrepreneurial approach to the apparel industry. While many celebrity types merely lend their name to their brand, some are actually hands on during the design process.

Apparel News featured Olympic award winning tennis player Venus Williams’ sportswear line EleVen. Williams has taken her line to the runaway and partnered with Ralph Lauren on a capsule collection, elevating the idea of sportswear. Former NBA player Kevin Willis studied fashion and textile at Michigan State while obtaining an undergraduate degree and pursued fashion internships while simultaneously playing in the NBA. He then went on to produce and manufacture suitwear and a casual clothing line, Willis & Walker.

Merriman, who sells Lights Out in retail outlets at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, decided to venture onto a full apparel business lifestyle brand in downtown Los Angeles, including accessories and toys. He said to “Los Angeles Business Journal” that he is in the process of “finalizing a deal that will bring his casual apparel to stores in other MGM properties including Mandalay Bay, Bellagio and Mirage hotel casinos in Las Vegas.”

Merriman is also working on building a line of glow-in-the-dark toys for the Lights Out, which will include board games, kid-sized basketball hoops and air hockey tables. The toys will be sold on his website and expected to be retailed at toy stores nationwide.

“Lights Out is not just a nickname, not just a T-shirt company,” he said to LABJ. “This is going to be all across the country in the next six months.”