22 Feb 2018
NBA partners with Nike for 'performance evolving' uniforms
BY Lauren Heath-Jones
Nike has debuted the Nike Vapor basketball uniform, an innovative new uniform designed for the NBA. To create the new uniform Nike’s designers focused on three key areas of improvement: fit, movement and heat regulation. Using atlas mapping, a process involving digital body scanning, designers identified sweat zones, contact zones and range of motion, and were able to utilise the data collected to create a uniform that keeps players cool and dry and their movement uninhibited. It was in development for over a year, and underwent hours of testing - including snag, piling and wash-testing - from both the athletes and designers, with players trialling the uniforms at the 2016 Rio games. Billed as Nike Basketball’s most advanced kit to date, the uniforms feature Nike AeroSwift technology and consist of jerseys and shorts made from a high-performance knit material that is designed to wick sweat away from the skin 30 percent faster, than its predecessor. Kurt Parker, VP of Apparel Design at Nike, says: "We wanted to dramatically evolve both the performance and look of the uniforms. "We were able to streamline the fit by tailoring the uniforms to their need, resulting in the lightest uniform in NBA history," he says. Additionally Nike has also launched the NikeConnect NBA Jersey. Billed as the ‘future of fan apparel’ the jersey connects to the NikeConnect app and provides wearers with personalised content and fan experiences.
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