US-born golf brand Ashworth collaborates with Hong Kong upcomer Mountain Yam

A desire for heritage labels to lean in on the youthful creativity of emerging brands is not an entirely new concept. Such a partnership typically hopes to appeal to younger consumers that are drawn to the sometimes more forward-thinking or innovative approach of designers that can be attributed to their respective generation. It was this that was at the core of a new collaboration between US-born golf brand Ashworth and emerging Hong Kong label Mountain Yam, which had been unveiled at the ongoing trade show Centrestage Hong Kong.

The duo worked on the capsule as a means to expand on both their strengths. Ashworth, a brand focused on golfing apparel, contributed its expansive expertise in technical materials, while Yam adapted his own signature style in the form of eye-catching prints and bold colour palettes. For both, new experiences were also had, as was reflected in the collection’s theme of “evolution”, through which the collaborative duo worked to transform traditional golfing design into contemporary athleisure fashion.

For Yam, this marked a new venture into the world of performance sportswear. “The collaboration started because we both love sports,” the designer, who operates his own namesake brand 112 Mountain Yam, told FashionUnited at his booth at Centrestage. “Ashworth usually offers traditional golf wear, and we wanted to add more elements into their line so it was wearable on a daily basis – particularly as we play on new prints. The brand has 30 years of heritage, so we studied the archive in order to bring some of the historic silhouettes into the collection with a new touch.”

Responding to the casualisation of sportswear

Meanwhile, at Ashworth, this was an important next step towards its efforts of infusing fashion with golf, a trend that has taken particular precedence among Hong Kong consumers who, unlike their US and UK counterparts, seek a more daring approach to on-the-course wear. The shift could clearly be seen on the runway, which was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 4. Here, the capsule served as the grand finale to a bigger exhibition of Ashworth’s collections. The neon colour palette and daring prints stood starkly against looks presented just minutes prior, many of which were more monotone in their hues and donned significantly more pared back prints.

For William Fu, CEO of the Hong Kong-based firm YGM Trading, working with Yam was Ashworth’s first step into casualising part of its offering, addressing a wider trend in the local – and international – sporting world. To begin carrying this out, Yam appeared to Fu to be the perfect partner: “Other than fashion, Mountain also understood the more commercial side to the collaboration. You have to have a sense of that, because at the end of the day, we are not couture. The most important thing was that we have a very similar feeling towards this joint venture.”

This move towards casualisation doesn’t detract from the fact that sportswear is having a big moment this year. The summer of sports – from the Olympics to the Euros, and more – has ignited a renewed fervour in the way of athleticism. Yet, while the awareness for some of these sports is up, golf has retained a geographically boundary-less prominence, gliding relatively smoothly in the backdrop of other ball games with fairly consistent demand, despite lacklustre conditions elsewhere in the apparel industry. The market size of the sport in the US alone amounts to 27.2 billion dollars, according to Statista, for example, while the global golf apparel market was valued at 4.24 billion dollars in 2023, with revenue expected to grow at a rate of 6.2 percent from 2024 to 2030 [Maximize Market Research].

Its appeal in Hong Kong specifically has been long-lasting, and was the driving force behind YGM Group’s acquisition of Ashworth back in 2019. The American brand had initially passed through various ownership since its inception in 1987, including with TaylorMade, a subsidiary of Adidas. The company ultimately opted to sell Ashworth’s trademarks and intellectual property to long-time Asia licensee YGM Trading Limited, which also owns the rights to Parisian label Guy Laroche and is the local distributor of J.Lindeberg. YGM then licensed the brand to US, UK and South Korea based partners, addressing the different needs of golf customers.

YGM puts focus on Hong Kong market, where golf has stable demand

These are quite specific to the respective regions, according to Fu. He noted: “Asia, America and Europe all have different styles. Europeans are more fashionable; Americans are more inclusive; Asians are focused on functionality because of the weather, so everybody has a different approach. But all in all, the DNA is the same.” For Hong Kong, meanwhile, golf’s growth path has been on the up for the last 30 years due to the resulting influence of being a former British colony. As such, a takeover made sense, with YGM looking to leverage the sport’s rising popularity.

Evidence of this continued to be reflected in YGM’s report for the financial year ended 31 March 2024, in which it saw a 28 percent uptick in the local market. In regards to Mainland China, however, 2024 marked a year in which YGM decided to discontinue Ashworth’s retail operations in the region following an assessment of its performance and despite expansion efforts. It will continue through a licensing agreement in order to maintain a presence, but for now Fu’s focus remains on building up Ashworth’s presence internationally, with the US and Europe continuing to present opportunities, and in Hong Kong, where the industry is currently stabilising.

It is for this latter reason, in addition to showcasing the new collaboration, that Fu decided to attend Centrestage Hong Kong for the first time this year. He explained: “Centrestage is more focused on local brands, local designers. So the reason we attended was, firstly, because of Mountain and so that we could show our support for local designers, to help them get onto a different stage.” While the future for Ashmark itself is currently unclear – the only thing that's certain is that its Ashmark x Mountain Yam collection will launch to the public in SS25 – Fu remains open to opportunities that come the brand’s way. Without giving too much away, he added that future collaborations with other young designers was also on the cards.