A little-known Dutch designer scored big after a friend wore her Knicks T-shirt to Madison Square Garden — and it caught the attention of owner Jim Dolan’s pal.
Georgine Ratelband’s $295 “I’m a New York Knicks Girl” tee and five other items from her luxury line are now being sold at the MSG Team Store — debuting just weeks before the team made it to the NBA Finals.
“It’s great timing,” Ratelband, 37, told The Post. “I’m ecstatic. I’m over the moon. I’m so proud.”
Items from her Knicks collection — which include a crewneck sweater for $160, a $385 hoodie, $425 pants, a sequin jacket for $900 and a $1,450 leather jacket — have already been purchased by sports royalty, like New York Knicks star Josh Hart’s wife, Shannon, and former Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist.
“One of my favorite stories is Henrik Lundqvist posted a picture of his daughters wearing my hoodies. It’s an incredible picture, courtside,” she gushed.
“And then Josh Hart, his wife wore one of my shirts. And I mean, these people all bought them too, it’s not like I gifted it to them. So it’s even more special.”
Ratelband, who founded the women’s luxury fashion label Georgine in 2011, introduced sports-themed tees to her collection due to a high demand from her clients — who wanted to up their game when attending sporting events.
“My clients always say, ‘I want to look cute, but I don’t want to be too overdressed,’” said the fashionista, who’s dressed A-listers like Beyoncé, Zendaya, Lady Gaga and Brooke Shields.
“Just because it’s the men playing, us girls also want to be involved.”
In April 2025, she gave the only hand-embroidered “I’m a New York Knicks Girl” tee she designed to her friend to wear to MSG for Game 5 of Round 1 of the playoffs against the Detroit Pistons.
“A friend of Dolan showed it to an executive over at MSG who then referred it over to the merchandise manager,” she explained.
“Before I knew it, I was literally put on a text message [with MSG] and they were like, ‘We love the shirt. How many can we get?’ So I said, ‘None. I only made one!’”
Ratelband immediately contacted the factory she uses in Italy to rush a bulk order.
Her “I’m a New York Knicks Girl” shirt was only sold at the exclusive Delta Lounge at MSG last season, and after the first batches sold out, she was asked to design additional Knicks merch.
“I made a beautiful presentation with sketches and ideas and went into MSG. I was so nervous, it was a huge boardroom with a lot of people to present to. But they loved everything,” said Ratelband.
Ratelband, who moved to New York from the Netherlands in 2014, said her Knicks partnership has special meaning because the term “Knickerbockers” comes from the name of the trousers the original Dutch settlers to Manhattan wore in the 1600s.
“And since I’m Dutch, I just feel like it’s such a perfect collaboration,” she said.
