THE PROVENANCE

In 1992, Il Moro di Venezia shattered expectations and tradition by becoming the first non-Anglophone challenger to reach the America’s Cup finals. With a fleet of sleek red boats, a roster of top international sailors, and backers who understood both style and spectacle, the Italian syndicate did more than compete—they announced themselves. Their win in the Louis Vuitton Cup signaled a new era of global competition. Their look sealed their place in the aesthetic canon of the sport.

This vest is a rarely seen artifact from that campaign: a quilted yellow crew vest made by Murphy & Nye under their Sailwear line, issued to the team during the 28th America’s Cup in San Diego. Unlike the more common brown variants bearing the notable Il Moro lion, this bold yellow version is scarcely documented—a near-ghost item in the collector space. Named for the team’s United States base during the campaign, the vest was designed for onshore use, pairing functionality with unmistakable Italian panache.

The inner label confirms its provenance: “Shelter Island – Garment issued to the crew of Il Moro di Venezia, Challenger for the 28th America’s Cup, San Diego, CA.”

The diamond quilting, snap-button front, and high-contrast yellow tone exemplify the fusion of performance engineering and cutting-edge sportswear that Murphy & Nye helped pioneer in 90s competitive sailing. Practical. Rare. Electric in presence. This vest is more than team gear—it’s a wearable record of one of the most visually ambitious and significant campaigns in America’s Cup history.

In 1987, Stars & Stripes US-55 made history in Fremantle, Australia—beating the Australians and putting America back in the Cup after the shock of 1983. Dennis Conner’s redemption campaign was a study in grit, design evolution, and relentless execution in one of the toughest racing environments in modern Cup history.

And this sweater? An artifact of that history. Crew-issued and never commercially available, this heavyweight knit was made exclusively for team members and bears a single marking - “100% Australian wool.” The sweater is durable enough to handle the toughest of conditions, yet refined in silhouette and feel. A cherished functional layer, not a souvenir.

There is no official documentation of the crew wearing this exact piece—a likely casualty of Australia’s summertime climate and the passage of time. Still, its authenticity is confirmed with flying colors by team family members and sponsors. The material, cut, and construction align precisely with period crew gear. What’s certain: this is a singular museum-grade collectors piece from one of the most iconic comebacks in sailing history.

A one of a kind garment. Impossible to replicate.

In 1997, Prada CEO and avid sailor Patrizio Bertelli met with famed naval architect Germán Frers to discuss designing his personal cruising yacht. What began as a conversation about leisure soon evolved into something far more ambitious: the founding of a new America’s Cup syndicate—Prada Challenge, now known as Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli.

Italy has long been one of the best-dressed presences in America’s Cup history, with teams like Azzurra and Il Moro di Venezia setting a high bar. Prada, true to form, elevated that tradition with its entrance—bringing unmistakable Italian style and precision to the sport’s highest stage. In its debut at the 30th America’s Cup in 2000, Luna Rossa won the Louis Vuitton Cup on its first attempt, earning the right to challenge Team New Zealand for the Auld Mug.

With Prada at the helm, the team’s gear set a new standard—integrating advanced materials, minimalist design, and technical tailoring. The result was a uniform kit that mirrored the Cup’s cutting-edge ethos while defining a new aesthetic benchmark in performance sailing. Over the years, these designs have influenced the fashion house’s acclaimed Linea Rossa sport line. Today, the 2000s items are highly-coveted collector pieces.

This early-aughts Luna Rossa jacket features the burgee of Yacht Club Italiano, one of the oldest yacht clubs on the Mediterranean, based in Genoa. Prada Luna Rossa sailed on behalf of the club from 2003-2007. With signature team colors, contrast ribbing, and luxury construction, the jacket stands as both a product of its era and a timeless example of offshore elegance.

Everyone credits Australia II’s revolutionary winged keel for ending the United States’ 132-year reign over the America’s Cup in 1983 off Newport, Rhode Island. But let’s be honest—our bet is on the shorts.

Crafted by Canterbury of New Zealand for the 1983 campaign and later by Stubbies for the 1987 defense in Fremantle (the first time the Cup departed Newport) the iconic green shorts are etched into sailing legend. Worn both on and off the water, they captured the team’s upstart, casual-cool image, a sharp contrast to the muted, traditional tones of the American uniforms.

Indicative of 1980s athletic wear and a fresh take on masculine style, the shorts were often paired with fitted polos or rugby jerseys in national colors—cementing the Aussies’ image as one of the most distinctive in modern sports history.

Original pairs now reside in the collections of the Australian Sports Museum and the National Museum of Australia.

This particular pair is an Official Product of the America’s Cup Defence 1987, featuring the signature Boxing Kangaroo and “KA 9” sail number—one of the syndicate’s 12-Metre yachts. Barely worn and complete with the original tag, they’re a grail-tier relic bound to turn heads.

September, 1983. Newport, Rhode Island.

The city’s sleepy colonial streets and former Navy wharfs are electrified by the 25th America’s Cup. Since 1930, the New York Yacht Club successfully defended the Cup in the waters off Newport, regularly bringing spectacle and pride to the historic city by the sea. For over 132 years, the New York Yacht Club’s winning streak cemented the United States’s dominance of the Cup as axiomatic. Nothing could shake the Auld Mug from the Americans’ iron grip until that fateful late summer month.

A once routine affair that garnered limited attention beyond the yachting community, the Cup became a renewed international sensation as the underdog Australian team made headlines as they won race after race with a mysteriously fast boat and charismatic flair.

With the Australians on the cusp of dethroning the Americans, Newport felt transformed into the center of the universe as once the impossible happened.

Likely produced in anticipation of yet another American win, this retro cap was distributed among team affiliates, New York Yacht Club members, enthusiasts, and support staff throughout Newport ahead of the regatta. Though not officially team-issued, the cap was part of the broader sartorial ecosystem. The schooner embroidery nods to the earliest defenders of the Cup from the 19th century, linking the legacy of victory through traditional iconography to modern day. A rare item, the cap’s emblematic design and period reference encompass this remarkable moment in sailing history.

A prelude to the 29th America’s Cup, the 1995 Citizen Cup was the U.S. defender selection series that pitted America’s top syndicates against one another. But it was more than a qualifier—it became one of the most dramatic domestic battles in Cup history. At the center: Stars & Stripes, led by Dennis Conner, squaring off against Mighty Mary, the groundbreaking all women’s team.

By the final round robin, Mighty Mary had the momentum and the headlines. Stars & Stripes, meanwhile, were nearly written off—down in the standings and hanging on by a thread. What followed became known as “Conner’s Greatest Comeback.”

On April 26 in Race 12, Stars & Stripes clawed back from the brink, winning the race—and the Citizen Cup—by a singleboat length, proving that every inch counts in yacht racing. 

This t-shirt captures that race in obsessive detail. The back features a full technical breakdown of Race 12: leg-by-leg deltas, wind shifts, tactical gains, and course geometry. Two curved tracks map out the battle between the boats—an exacting replica of the race as it happened. For wear or display, this rare shirt is both a record and visual feast on the art of the comeback. 

After his successful America’s Cup defense in 1992, Bill Koch took the male-dominated elite yachting world to task in his 1995 attempt: let women race. America³’s Mighty Mary became the first majority-female crew to compete for the Cup—challenging one of the sport’s most entrenched norms. The competitive selection process yielded a team of the top women sailors in the country, including decorated Olympic, world, and collegiate sailing champions. At the helm was Dawn Riley, a veteran of Koch’s ‘92 winning campaign and fresh off skippering an all-women’s entry in the gruelling 1993–94 Whitbread Round the World Race.

Mighty Mary proved formidable on the water. In the 1995 Citizens Cup defender trials, the team advanced to the final after a series of victories over Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes. Though ultimately edged out in the final race, Mighty Mary defied expectations, shattered barriers, and inspired a generation of women sailors to push further.

This America³ fleece comes from that pivotal campaign—blending pioneering spirit with elite competition and 90s sporting flare. The patriotic two-tone pattern and bold syndicate insignia make the fleece a quintessential record of Americana sporting style and sailing history.