In the early '80s he once more showed his nature of setter of fashion and garments trends when he re-positioned Robe di Kappa as an active sportswear brand and, in the process, created a new sector in the Italian market. The brand was launched with professional football player and teen-age girls icon Marco Tardelli, pre-empting the trend of using professional athletes as brand testimonials, which later has become the pillar of global growth of sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas. In 1981, he signed what it turned out to be the 1st technical sponsorship deal with a Football Club, which granted Robe di Kappa the right to brand playing kits of professional club FC Juventus - an agreement which lasted a record 23 years.