Before Whitney Bansin had licensing deals with major sports leagues, she had a gold sequin jacket that Las Vegas couldn’t get enough of.
She moved to town at 10, met her husband at UNLV, and built a hair and makeup agency whose work included film, television, celebrities, magazines, and Zappos. Fashion was always her passion. Starting with makeup bags, she approached Las Vegas hotels about designing products for their stores. Those buyers became collaborators, bringing her requests — including Golden Knights apparel for women who wanted something beyond a jersey.
Around 2019, Bansin created gold sequin jackets in team colors. Hotels on the Strip sold hundreds, she tells me, and the glittering fans stood out when cameras panned the arena. The jackets had proved there was an audience. Then she wondered: “What if I actually put a logo on this?”
That question sent Bansin into sports licensing, where she learned how the business worked and what securing permission to use team branding would involve. Her first major license came from Major League Baseball. Orders followed.
The clothes explain why. Across The Wild Collective’s collections, team spirit takes the form of cropped cardigans, oversized fleece, satin bombers, and denim jackets embellished with crystals or sequins. There are lace tops and varsity jackets with pearl details. She plays with proportion, texture, and shine, giving fans pieces they can build an outfit around. The line also includes men’s and unisex pieces, from graphic hoodies and oversized denim jackets to textured knit bombers. You can support your team and still look like yourself.
That approach extends from the clothes to where they’re sold. Bansin designs collections around each retailer’s customer: A piece should fit the store’s aesthetic and offer something shoppers won’t find everywhere else. Selling the same design to every retailer, she reasons, leaves them competing for the same sale.
Today, the brand sells through roughly 35 retailers, including Anthropologie, Free People, and many more. Locally, she points shoppers toward Dick’s Sporting Goods for Raiders and Aces apparel, Target for Aces pieces, and City National Arena for Golden Knights merchandise.
Target was an especially natural fit for a mother who shops there at least three times a week. “I’m selling to myself, literally,” she says.
Knitwear is among her strongest categories, and she’s expanding her cardigan offerings while continuing to reinterpret jerseys. The business also includes collections for Las Vegas shows and music projects. Ahead are more fashion collections without sports logos and ambitions in Europe, including the Premier League soccer.
Bansin wants a strategic partner to help build the infrastructure for a larger company, bringing in experienced people who can help her scale while she concentrates on the work she loves. She credits Las Vegas’ hospitality culture and close business community with helping her get this far.
“I feel like you can almost make anything happen here.”
