Robert Earnshaw is a hat connoisseur and is constantly buying new ones. The Fire forward has become so knowledgeable about hats in recent years, he believes he can make them better than the professionals. That’s why he deciced to launch his own line of designer baseball caps: Blaq Zinq.
Earnshaw – who was born in Zambia and spent much of his career in England — debuted Blaq Zinq at the Fire’s second annual Soccer & Style fashion show Sept. 25 at Revel Downtown. The hats are expected to be available on blaqzinq.com in early November and, for the most part, cost between $80 and $100. The most expensive hat features Swarovski crystals on the underside of the bill, but an exact price has yet to be determined.
The hats are each named after philosophers, geniuses and innovators. The collection includes The Da Vinci, The Edison, The Houdini and The Einstein.
“I wanted to produce something that was different,” Earnshaw said of Blaq Zinq following Fire practice last month at Toyota Park. “Something you could wear with a suit. Something a little more casual – a little more elegant.
“Sometimes hats are too big, too wide, the peak is too long. We stripped every hat down and remade it to size. We measured up the distances. We added a gold satin linen inside.”
Earnshaw signed with the Fire in August. On Thursday, he scored a game-tying goal in stoppage time in the Fire’s 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union, his third goal in five games with the Fire.
What do Earnshaw’s teammates think of his designer hats?
“They’ve been, um, commenting,” Earnshaw said, laughing, before backtracking. “No, they’re complimentary.”
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