Taking in a P.S.G. game has become fashionable, it seems, for any Hollywood star or prominent athlete visiting Paris. But the club’s jersey and crest have become something of a fashion statement for the A-list, too: Beyoncé and the British singer Rita Ora have worn pieces by Koché. Justin Timberlake wore a jacket emblazoned with the then-unreleased Jumpman logo at a concert in Paris in July, and LeBron James turned up for a Los Angeles Lakers game in a P.S.G. shirt last month.
P.S.G. insists all of that interest is entirely organic. “Some stars want to come,” Allègre said. “Others are invited.”
To the deeply cynical soccer world, though, there is a fine line between Hollywood sheen and public-relations artifice. P.S.G.’s celebrity following has served simply to accentuate its reputation as somehow inauthentic, a plaything for the rich and famous, a passionately supported team turned into a high-end tourist destination.
For all that fans of the team worry that its soul has been lost, there is a sporting purpose behind the club owner’s approach. The fashion collaborations and the celebrity appearances, the club believes, can have a genuine impact on its fortunes.
“Since we bought the club, we have tried to be even more different, more unique, more creative,” Khelaifi said in an interview at the launch of the Air Jordan event. “This partnership is going to bring us more fans around the world: fans who love basketball and soccer, who love fashion, who love Michael Jordan and who love Paris.”