THE RANGE
This limited capsule was created to inject style and novelty into the Fall 2024 NCAA range for one of our top adidas sports marketing schools, University of Miami. The styles spotlight a warm weather style, mixed with as much of Miami’s bold cultural identity as possible. The more, the better.
The design focused on expressive color and ease of styling, offering two silhouettes. Both were positioned as men’s or women’s, but could flex across men’s and women’s wardrobes. As a fashion-forward addition, these two pieces must inject extra energy to the range while staying rooted in team pride and regional relevance.
OUR CONSUMER’S EXPRESSON:
These pieces were designed with younger audiences in mind—student-athletes, students, and recent alumni looking for something bold, fun, and outside the norm of standard team gear. They are looking for fun ways to disrupt their traditionally colored and executed team gear, show pride for their school, and style a look into their everyday fashion pieces.
DESIGN EXPLORATION
INSPIRATION:
This concept was built around the visual and cultural language of Miami. I pulling inspiration from classic Cuban shirts, sunset color palettes, and nostalgic references like Miami Vice.
COLOR AND GRAPHIC:
The color palette evolved effortlessly from our inspiration, using bold shades of teal, aqua, pink, and bright orange that speak to Miami’s vibrant stunning sunsets and the athletes’ desire for expressive, standout pieces. The colors translated powerfully as a strong gradient all over sublimation print.
The back graphic featured a Miami sunset and palm tree silhouette, with special NCAA licensing approval for Sebastian the Ibis to wear pink—marking a first for the program and making the design truly unique. The adidas badge of sport logo and Miami U logo were also treated in our sunset fade, wrapping the entirety of both garments in our loud, disruptive energy.
CUT AND SEW DETAILS:
Key construction details like a notched collar and a left chest pocket give the silhouette an authentic, easygoing leisure shirt feel. I was also inspired by many bold cuban shirts that feature a placed colorful border around the hem and up the center front placket of the garment.
BUILDING THE FIT:
To create two perfect fits, we set our ideal goal for each. Our men’s/unisex version would be a traditional, relaxed button-down silhouette, and our women’s needed to be cropped yet easygoing. Both were intended to be styled open, layered, or oversized, giving the piece fashion-forward versatility.
Beginning with our classic polo blocks and drafting collars, I worked closely with our pattern expert to draft and sew up a pre-season sample. Once we had a chance to fit the blank on a mannequin, we could adjust the pattern and submit for our first round of sampling.
Our first prototype came in close, and small fit changes were necessary to make the collar look elevated and effortless, for vacation, rather than like work wear.
PRINT PLACEMENT:
With the block pattern created, I manually placed our sublimated sunset fade print artwork on the breakout graded patterns for all sizes in mens and women’s to ensure the same impact of color and fade for sizes xxs and xxl tall sizes.
