Under Armour is launching its newest division, UA Sportstyle, and it is doing so with the help of “Pioneers” all over the world like football champion Malcolm Jenkins of the Eagles and Japanese youth collective Tokyo Vitamin.
In 1996, Under Armour was created by Kevin Plank with seed money from his flower business. Today, that DIY spirit and entrepreneurial drive to reinvent performance apparel for athletes has been tapped to launch UA Sportstyle.
UA Sportstyle, a new category that will offer performance and style product steeped in Under Armour’s athletic legacy, will debut next week with a new shoe, the UA Forge 96 ($120), and UA Sportstyle Pioneer projects in several major cities worldwide. From live shows and master classes to pop-ups and on-field workshops, UA Sportstyle Pioneers will lead a series of forums to empower their local communities. The goal for every Pioneer project is the same: celebrate the incredible things that a DIY spirit can achieve in the hands of people creating in and for their own communities.
In Philadelphia, Under Armour athlete Malcolm Jenkins — two-time Super Bowl champion and Eagles team captain — will speak at an upcoming private event with a youth football team; he’ll discuss what it takes to be more than an athlete in 2018 and how to play football differently.
In Tokyo, the seven-member Tokyo Vitamin record label and artistic collective, founded by Vick Okada, will reimagine some elements of a traditional Matsuri festival in collabloration with visual, collage, and video artists including Kei Saito, Yuji Kamiyama, Jeron Braxton, and Jun Inagawa.
Hong Kong will see an activation by Yeti Out and UA Sportstyle that aims to support young and aspiring musicians with limited opportunity for sports and nightlife. In partnership with VOLUME, a live radio show will explore these issues with skate legend Brian Siswijo of 852 store, DJ and boxer Fergus Heathcoate, and James Yao of XXX gallery.
UA Sportstyle will also be collaborating with Terrence and Kevin Kim of fashion label IISE in Seoul, designer Olaf Hussein of ØLÅF CITIZENS in Amsterdam, Simon Suphandagli of EJDER in London, and Ghanaian-German rapper Serious Klein in Berlin. The Pioneer project will also link UA Sportstyle Pioneers with Bioler Room’s Low Heat-style series to put on live events in four cities: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Berlin, and London.
To learn more and sign up for a UA Forge Forum in your city, check out UAForgeForums.com.
Expect more news and imagery regarding the UA Forge 96 sneaker in the coming days. For now, check out Nightwing2303’s UA Forge 96 review below.
Source: UA News
cool idea, but I can’t help but describe this as anything but “trying”
Maybe they could get back into the flower business.