With steel being such an important part of Pittsburgh’s history, the Penguins’ other halves included gray patchwork in the fabric of their 2026 playoff jackets.
Designed by Ashley Harris, who is based out of metro Detroit, the women were thrilled with the finished product.
“Ashley absolutely nailed it,” Kelsey Rust said. “She took something that could’ve just been a simple team piece and turned it into something that felt really personal and elevated. Every detail felt intentional, from the design to the fit to the little custom elements that made each jacket feel special to the girl wearing it.
“She really understood the balance between honoring the Penguins brand and creating something stylish that we’d genuinely be excited to wear for years to come. It felt meaningful.”
Over the last decade or so, players’ significant others have ordered custom game-day outfits for their families, across all sports leagues. Some have even started designing the products themselves, like Kristin Juszczyk, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Offseason Brand, and Lauren McDavid, who launched Sports Club Atelier.
“The creativity for team spirit wear has certainly grown over the years! It’s been really fun to see what girls come up with,” Rust said. “It’s such a fun way for everyone to express their pride and celebrate their love for the team. It’s not just about the final product, but the excitement leading up to it and the sense of community it creates among all of us.”
Kelsey is from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, just across the border from Michigan, where Bryan was born and raised. She came across Harris’ designs last summer, and saw that they had mutual connections. So, Kelsey reached out to see if Ashley would be interested in creating custom pieces for herself and the kids.
“I had noticed on her page that she creates pieces for Detroit sports teams, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask, because I was really drawn to her work and how unique it was,” Kelsey said. “I also love supporting small businesses, and she is a one-woman show! Every piece by her is hand-selected, created, cut, sewn and completed by her.”
Ashley was happy to oblige, and Kelsey was in awe of the detail, time and energy spent curating the pieces. So was Melinda Karlsson. She ended up working with Ashley on some pieces for her and the kids to wear while cheering on Erik and Team Sweden at the Winter Olympics, which were unique and stunning.
So, when the time came to start looking into team jackets for the ladies to have during the postseason, Kelsey and Melinda knew Ashley would be the perfect person for the job.
“We both had such incredible experiences with her and absolutely loved working with her, we were excited to do it again on an even bigger scale,” Kelsey said. “When we approached Ashley, she was so happy and excited. It felt right. So, the three of us started working on it together and it was so much fun.”
They wanted to go with Ashley’s signature design, which are patchwork jackets, so the process started there. Erik has said before that Melinda has been buying most of his clothes for the past several years, because she has such an eye for fashion. So, she worked closely with Ashley to hand-select each material used in the jackets.
“It was the perfect combination of elements that truly mean something to our team, making sure everything reflected who we are and what this moment represents,” Kelsey said.
With a tight deadline, Ashley worked non-stop to get the jackets done in time for Game 1. She even drove to Pittsburgh to hand-deliver them to Kelsey. “When I say she went above and beyond, it’s not an understatement,” Kelsey said.
For Ashley’s part, she posted content to her social media accounts illustrating the process, calling it the “craziest, most insane project I have ever worked on.”
“I want to thank the Pittsburgh Penguins ladies a million times more for giving me this opportunity to create these special pieces for them,” she said. “It has been the honor of a lifetime. ... I truly love how they turned out. I can’t thank the ladies enough for letting me do this for them. I love seeing them styled. I love seeing them in the jackets, and making them come to life. it’s truly been a dream come true.”
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