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New York sports fans are known to loudly wear their hearts on their sleeves, and this jacket does the talking for them — on the court, the rink and on the field.
It’s all about the New York Knicks right now, with the team on a stunning and historic winning streak, but Madison Square Garden regulars — both on and off the court — don’t want to forget their other hometown heroes.
To the rescue comes Alex Ruffin, a 31-year-old Connecticut designer who created the “Madison Square Guardian,” a $1,400 bespoke jacket — one half repping the Rangers, the other the Knicks — so fans could celebrate the beating heart of Big Apple sports, win or lose.
“MSG — that’s the mecca right there,” he told The Post. “Babies are born every day into a fandom… Sports unify a lot of people.”
The coat of many colors is part of the “Hometown Hero” series, from Ruffin’s A Thrifted Temple label — a fun fusion of two vintage team jackets from the same city or state, chopped up and sewn together to create an even bolder statement.
“People resonate with my jackets to the degree that they do because sports is the one thing on this planet that transcends,” said Ruffin, who created the concept three years ago in his Stamford home.
“I thought it was a brilliant idea, because who doesn’t like to represent where they’re from?” he added.
Even Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ star guard, is on board.
“Jalen’s jacket that I made for him is very special for me,” Ruffin said of the $1,400 sold-out style worn by Brunson last month. “It made a lot of sense, just knowing the history of the team and the owners, then knowing that Jalen Brunson’s father played for the Knicks back in the day as well, so it was a really cool full-circle moment.”
And it’s a full-circle moment indeed, considering the Knicks are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 — when Brunson’s dad Rick was on the team.
A winning combo
Ruffin’s rad rags start at $800, with the most popular designs spotlighting New York teams — but they’ve been seen sported all over the country, by the likes of Davion Mitchell, who currently plays for the Miami Heat, and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Andre Jackson Jr. as well as rappers Westside Gunn, Anderson .Paak, Lil Yachty and Big Sean.
The craze kicked off when Yankees player Jazz Chisholm Jr. wore a specially-made Hometown Hero jacket (Knicks-Yankees) at MSG — a surreal moment for Ruffin, who played baseball for 10 years growing up.
“They had him on the Jumbotron, and he’s showing both sides of the jacket off,” Ruffin said. “I was just like, it’s happening. It’s finally happening. Everything since has been crazy.”
The ultimate slam dunk came after Brunson’s big reveal, however — leading to fans from all over reaching out with requests for their own personal pairings.
“It’s a hot commodity right now, and it’s almost overwhelming to a degree, but in a good way. A lot of people want my work,” Ruffin said. “It’s crazy because I don’t just view my jackets as jackets, I view them as art pieces.”
Court couture
Ruffin can make up to four jackets in a day and most have a base price of $500 to $600 — though New York designs, which are in high demand, have a higher price tag.
Sourcing the originals to Frankenstein together is tricky — he relies on Mercari, eBay, Depop or local thrift stores, though clients can supply two jackets to fuse together — and so is keeping up with the influx of orders, especially since the Knicks’ streak.
But for the in-demand creator, it’s all in a day’s work. “They say this all the time, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.”
Often, buyers snatch up the jackets almost immediately after he posts about restocks on social media. So far, he’s sold about 100 Hometown Hero jackets.
“With these jackets that I make, I feel I’m like knighting people. Like, this is like a battle armor for you that I feel is yours and belongs to you solely,” Ruffin said.
But it was a little less than three years ago that he started sewing seriously and bringing his designs to life to begin with — and he’s completely self-taught.
“It’s almost like trying to learn a new language,” he said.
Comeback story
Ruffin’s big win comes a little over a decade after he was forced to drop out of college at age 18 to take care of his mom when she was diagnosed with cancer.
“I remember clear as day, having that weight at such a young age, it does something to you,” Ruffin said. “To see somebody that you have such a bond with disintegrate right in front of you and lose all aspects of themselves.”
She died in 2013, a few weeks after his 20th birthday, and Ruffin’s father passed away a few years later at the age of 51.
Experiencing immense loss at such a young age could’ve broken him, but he learned to turn his pain into art. He reintroduced himself to drawing and started painting his designs on clothes, which he found therapeutic.
“It would ease my mind from the loss,” he said.
He sold his first painted jacket for $80 and, in the years since, he has been able to quit his day job at Sprint and “throw caution to the wind” to focus solely on A Thrifted Temple.
“It’s really humbling to me because I made these jackets in my apartment. It’s just me, my living room space and my sewing machine,” he said.
He’s now making more than any previous gig — and his life is a lot richer, too.
Though he might not be here to see it, Ruffin said he’s sure he made his father, a “die-hard” New York sports fan, proud.
“I know my mom, my dad and my grandma are all with me in spirit on this journey.”
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