for Darrelle’s game, “Revis Island.” From there, it just grew and evolved as I continued to experiment with different placements and combinations of logos.
“Misplaced” Meets MLB: John Geiger’s Latest Collaboration with New Era and Lids
“I haven’t been asked where I’m from in a long time, and I think it’s partially because I’m always wearing a Pittsburgh hat,” says John Geiger, a toothy grin spreading across his face. Geiger may split the lion’s share of his time between Tampa Bay and Puerto Rico these days, but he’s still a Pittsburgh kid at heart.
With at least one black-and-yellow garment or footwear colorway in his eponymous brand’s drops, and a frequent presence at Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers games, Geiger is a true Steel City native. And now, the leader of a thriving independent brand is having what may be his most grand homecoming yet: a collaboration with MLB, New Era, and Lids.
The collaboration sees Geiger bring his signature “Misplaced” ethos to a nine-team collection of 59FIFTY fitted hats centered around his beloved Pirates. But it doesn’t stop there. The collection also features the Marlins, Rays, Phillies, Mets, White Sox, Cardinals, Angels, and Rangers, all with tripled-up, tightly stacked logos on the front panels and a custom patch on the side.
Longtime fans of Geiger’s work will recognize the “Misplaced” ethos from his early collaborations with The Shoe Surgeon on bespoke “Misplaced Checks” Air Force 1s. It can also be seen in his own brand’s products. But this collaboration has opened Geiger’s eyes to the widespread appeal of the aesthetic.
“Working with Lids on this project helped me see that the ‘Misplaced Series’ is almost like universal branding at this point,” he says. And as we continue our conversation, a pause is necessitated.
“This is the first time I’ve seen everyone with the hats on!” says Geiger, pausing to capture a screenshot of the video chat, which is awash in repeated logos.
John Geiger Talks About His Latest Collaboration
Geiger explains how the collaboration came together, saying, “Funnily enough, I had this hat design sitting for a while and was just waiting for the right opportunity to bring it to life — that, and hoping that I wouldn’t see something similar in the meantime [laughs]. When the time came, the only thing we had to do was get the teams on board.”
Initially, the capsule was only going to include teams from cities where Geiger has lived, such as Pittsburgh, New York, Los Angeles, and Tampa Bay. But as the project grew, so did the number of teams involved.
Geiger’s design ethos of altered placement and repetition of logos has been a staple in his work since the early days of the “Misplaced Checks” Air Force 1s. He explains, “It started out small. When I was working with Darrelle Revis and Nike on the Zoom Revis, I got the idea to create a small run of custom Air Force 1s with overlapping checks, and the name ‘Misplaced Checks’ came from the nickname we had for Darrelle’s game, ‘Revis Island.’ From there, it just grew and evolved as I continued to experiment with different placements and combinations of logos.
