How ESQ Clothing helps Notre Dame, Texas A&M with life after football
Notre Dame has a challenge on its hands with Texas A&M. Few know it better than ESQ Clothing founder and owner Ge Wang.
ESQ, a bespoke clothing company based in Chicago, personally outfitted every Fighting Irish and Aggie player for a sport coat to be worn before Saturday night’s matchup. And the latter group has the size to match up with the former.
“We kind of jokingly say we get first dibs on viewings of every team, because we see the guys before any media does.” Wang told Blue & Gold. “Everyone knows they got dudes on the D-line. I mean, there are some guys that are definitely NFL-caliber.”
ESQ’s mission in providing sport coats to each player, though, goes far beyond advanced scouting.
For high-level college football players, it can be difficult to find a suit that truly fits. Part of ESQ’s mission is to give each individual something they can wear for things like job interviews and corporate jobs down the line.
“Notre Dame definitely prides itself on selling the four for 40 message,” Wang said. “It’s not something that they just have for game day. A lot of these guys, there’s no way they’re gonna be able to find something off the rack that fits.”
Wang would know. The Chicagoland native graduated from Notre Dame in 2008, and after a brief stint as a lawyer, he founded ESQ in 2012. He reconnected with his alma matter shortly thereafter and has been dressing the Irish for about seven or eight seasons.
When Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman took over, he and Wang hit it off.
“We’re the same age,” Wang said. “[We have] young kids, so I think we have a lot in common. I would say a little bit more stress on his hands on a Saturday basis.”
ESQ also dresses Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Duke. The Wildcats and Blue Devils face each other Sept. 6, which Wang jokingly dubs one of the “ESQ Bowls.” Another, of course, is Notre Dame at Texas A&M.
The company has dressed Duke since Mike Elko became head coach, and that’s how it began working with the Aggies this season. When the teams enter Kyle Field on Saturday, every player will don an ESQ sport coat.
The Irish jackets will be lined in gold with “Play Like a Champion Today” written in blue letters like the sign in the tunnel. The Aggies’ are lined in maroon, with the white Texas A&M logo as decoration.
Wang joked that the life-after-football message resonates most with high-academic schools like Notre Dame, Duke, Northwestern and Vanderbilt, but under Elko, A&M has embraced it, too.
“I think it’s important, for all these schools, it’s not just football, right?” Wang said. “It’s an important message to sell that football ends for everyone at some point. I see so many posts online of former players or whatnot wearing their jackets or suits for weddings, for headshots, for everything.”
Wang doesn’t want to pigeonhole ESQ as a brand that only works with athletes, but he takes pride in what the company is doing with Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
“It’s neat to be able to work with people, work with coaches and people that you get to know on a personal level,” Wang said. “But also for me as an alum, it’s pretty cool to be able to work with the school you grew up rooting for.”
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