I was hired by Under Armour in January 2018 to design a limited-edition fashion active capsule, Under Armour Sportswear. The goal was to test the market/consumer’s interest in a more fashion-directed sportswear line.
This was to be a speed-to-market collection with a fashion/lifestyle approach, positioned to align with NikeLab, Adidas Originals and KITH. It needed to be recognizably Under Armour, yet differentiated from the main line.
The capsule would be a 2-delivery group of womens and mens fashion active/lifestyle sportswear for the established, performance-led brand.
For this special project with Under Armour, I kicked off the design process with in-depth development of a single, overarching concept: Arena.
The Arena epitomizes the idea of on-pitch/off-pitch lifestyle; combining the tribal energy of stadium sports, the bold graphics of team differentiation and a nostalgic sense of 90s footballer swag.
Building on a soccer influence in Drop 1+2, drop 3 evolved into another growing stadium sport: racing. Utilizing many common graphic details, performative needs, and a shared 90s popularity, I was able to create a smooth bridge between drops and tell a larger Arena story.
Diving deeply into my concept, I explored all physical aspects of a stadium/arena experience.
The open-air architecture with its contrast of mass/void, the geometric lines of field markings, the bold color and ergonomic curvature of stadium seats, and fine knotting/mesh textures of nets and ventilating external building materials.
After exploring all aspects of the concept, I went to work extrapolating inspiration points for materials, trim, graphics and details.
I found endless material inspiration in innovative stadium architecture and the way these stadiums are designed to mitigate overwhelming crowd cold, warmth, noise and weight.
Trim was inspired by soccer netting and the tactile experience of being in a stadium, sitting it its smooth plastic seats, in the open air.
Graphic design drew inspiration from vintage World Cup posters, x-racing sponsorship branding, and 3D branding application methods.
Originally slated to be released over 3 drops, I differentiated the deliveries into 3 sub-concepts for constant freshness on the floor:
On-pitch (Training), Off-Pitch (Recovery), and Next Gen (X-Racing inspired).
Drops 1+2 were later combined for a March 2019 delivery, with Drop 2 delivering in May 2019.
Drop 3 required a Graphic Design refresh, to differentiate the product on the floor pad and in campaign imagery. Drop 3’s graphics were inspired by 80s VHS tape product design, branded BMX racing gear.
With the concepts presented and aligned on with Under Armour senior leadership, I dove into hand sketching.
I sketched at a 3:1 ratio, handsketching about 125 sketches in 1 wk with a goal of 39 styles for line adoption. As this was a speed-to-market collection, we had under 2 months from concept to handoff, with constant alignment check ins and inclusive of all fabric sourcing and development.
We proceeded with 3Ds as a first protos in place of sewn garments. The goal of this was to alleviate incorrect design line placements and constructions on first samples and we shaved 1 month off development process.
The editorial campaign was shot on Australian fitness influencer and model Steph Claire Smith.