I was tapped by the sports powerhouse to create the visual merchandising concept for the UNLIKE ANY womens event featuring; Misty Copeland, Jessie Graff, Alison Desir, Natasha Hastings and Zoe Zhang. “Women are achieving unbelievable feats of athleticism beyond anything the world has seen. Breaking convention and elevating themselves above any plane of comparison. With the help of lyricists, poets, and spoken word artists, we’re celebrating these women who are UNLIKE ANY.” – Under Armour launch event in New York City. July 2017.
Grow Marketing out of San Francisco called me on a Monday afternoon and asked if I could consult on a visual merchandising project. They sent over the creative brief and needed a brand new concept for the UNLIKE ANY event within 24 hours. When I’m on a tight timeline, the quickest way I hash out my ideas is while I’m on a run or a swim. So, I laced up and hit the trails near my house before daycare closed. While on the run I thought about the athletes this collection was designed for.
Misty Copeland is an “American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre, one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT’s 75-year history.” If you’ve never seen her perform, she doesn’t just dance, she floats and flys. I wanted the apparel to display that same lightness and dreamlike state. I imagined the clothes flying through the air, running through the air, swimming through the air, boxing through the air. But how to actually make the clothes float and fly in thin air? I called my BFF from high school, the master of fabric manipulation, Tessie Seufferlein. She recommended using fabric glue to achieve the look I was dreaming about. I quickly stocked up on a mannequin, fabric glue, and sample pieces to test. The tricky part about working with fabric glue is you have to work fast and need a bodice that can be cut or removed after the glue dries.
I brought the test sports bra I made the night before, made a few more samples in an alleyway off the office in San Franciso (the glue scent is strong when using enough to cover garments!) and the Under Armour team loved it!
Scope: Visual Merchandiser
- Visual Merchandising concept planning and execution for the #unlikeany Under Armour Global Launch in New York City.
- Develop and present the concept to the Under Armour team and create prototypes for the award-winning marketing event.
Honor & Award
- Finalist for the Best Product Launch 2018 Biz Bash Event Style Awards
