I am going to discuss today a trend concept for the future Summer Olympics of 2012. I picked this trend because the Olympics are an event my family and I have cherished all of our lives. As a child growing up in a big family with nine siblings sportsmanship has always been a part of my life. In my childhood, the neighborhood kids would often gather out on the street and play football, baseball and have relay races. My childhood home has a big back yard where we had a basketball hoop where my brothers myself and the neighborhood kids would often play in basketball teams. When I was nine, my parents put in a swimming pool and swimming became incorporated as a sport as well. We would often play pool games and watching my Father or sister swim laps was the norm. In the front yard we would set up the Volleyball net and play team Volleyball. Summer vacations and winter vacations were engaged with skiing either water or snow. I remember being eight years old learning how to water ski being terrified of the sport but with practice and encouragement through the years I learned to start on one ski and jump the wakes. Our summers were not only for skiing but for hiking and backpacking and one Summer my Dad, brothers and I backpacked three days in the back country of Yosemite, California with everything needed for survival placed on our backs and in our packs.
The Olympics were and are looked at with great enthusiasm in our house and are the pinnacle of true success for an athlete to compete in the Olympic games and represent his/her country. My sister was fortunate enough to attend the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and when the Olympics came to Los Angeles in 1984 my Dad made sure everyone had tickets to the different events. My good friend, Laurel, who was visiting then was trained in childhood Equestrian. She attended one Equestrian event and could critique firsthand the event of the exercises being displayed. My family and friends attended the track and field event and watched in amazement as the great Carl Lewis won the Gold at the Colosseum. My Father and Brothers attended Swimming events at USC and my girlfriends and I attended the Gymnastic events at UCLA. It was with great joy and excitement to be able to go to the Olympics and so it seems only natural for me to choose this concept.
Engaging in a sport or in team sports can be hard and even more difficult when you're tired or have adversities in your life. It requires a great deal of discipline and effort to achieve success but the perseverance needed and the delayed gratification are rewarded in the end by the continuity of the hard work and the connectedness with others involved in the sport..
My concept is to present a fashion trend in the Activewear market for these Olympics. I will hypothetically design for the U.S. Olympics team representing the U.S. brand Underarmour for the U.S. athletes and for the target customer purchasing the garments attending the Olympics or watching the Olympics back home.
The meaning of my trend is to engage the customer and kids in Sportsmanship, to reconnect with the Great Outdoors and exercise. This trend affects the fashion industry's active wear market by promoting the latest styles and fabrics so the customer can work out with the greatest amount of ease and comfort. The goal is to promote exercise utilizing the latest technological advances in Fabrics to meet the customers demands for comfort.
This concept would be applied to visual merchandisers by setting up window displays and in store displays with the latest trends and visuals of the upcoming Olympics. The mannequins inside the store would display the garments where the customer can feel and touch the fabrics firsthand, the salespersons would further educate the customer on the current technology of the fabrics. Underarmour and other companies involved in the Activewear market will instill in the customers mind that exercise is not only fun and beneficial to their health but the designs are technologically advanced with access to the customers listening needs with IPOD pockets and advanced fabrics bringing the most benefits.
The target customer is a man, woman, teen who utilizes sportsmanship into their lives. For them exercise is a way of life. They are sport enthusiasts who love to attend sports games as well as watching the Sports channels as in ESPN or sporting events on Television or in person. They are disciplined, hard working and educated. They love to be entertained with Sports, partake in Sports activities and love the sense of Competition which comes with every sport. The target customer can live anywhere but will clan with other sports enthusiasts in the latest technology and trends. They love to be entertained, travel and love nothing more than being at a sporting event whether it be Baseball, Basketball or any other numerous sport. It is a way of life for this customer and in this concept we want the momentum and excitement to be contagious and inspire others to engage in sports and look forward to the joys and rewards which come with delayed gratification in incorporating sports and exercise in your daily or weekly schedules.
The fabrics used in this concept are the most technologically advanced and also utilize the Megatrend of recycling and conservation for the well being of the planets ecological system. For patrons who attend the London Olympics in July 2012, we will need to first forecast the weather possibilities. The weather as we all know has completely changed and the seasons are not always the seasons to be expected as in the past. Therefore, in London we know that in July the weather could be cold, damp, rainy and chilly from the mid 50's to 60's Fahrenheit or the weather could be on the opposite extreme with hot, humid, sunny with a heat wave of over 100 degrees. The temperature could also be average with partial sun and clouds with temperatures in the mid 70's. For Underarmour we will be prepared to handle all of the elements by preparing the athletes and patrons attending by using the most technologically advanced fabrics in the designs to counter all the above weather patterns.
The opening ceremony will take place on an island setting (but technically is a peninsula connected by an isthmus) in the East End of London. This land was once considered wasteland and was bombed during WWII. It is the greatest redevelopment in London in over one hundred years. Besides the new Olympic Stadium which will be a Velodrome (a modern banked arena with two 180 degree circular bends incorporated into the design through easement with the straight bends). It will house the bicycling and track events and the island will also have a new Aquatic Center as well as new gardens, cafes and bars. The re-birth of this land that was neglected parallels the re creation of fabrics utilized from waste. Plastic bottles filling up the landfills are reconverted into recycled polyester used in the designs I would incorporate as well as recycled nylons. These Olympics signify hope for the goodwill of all mankind, a recovery from a worldwide recession, renovation and restructuring of land and materials once left for waste to be utilized, renovated and given a new life. Therefore, the theme is about renovation, harmony, endurance and perseverance.
Fabrics and or fibers used would be Microfibers which primarily give comfort with a soft hand. If the elements are cold we would use micro fleece (also know as polar fleece). Polartec is a fleece recycled from 100% plastic bottles. This fiber is more environmentally friendly than wool and thereby paralleling the trend of the new Olympics island from wasteland and conserving the earth's most precious commodities with its finite resources. This fiber is also hypo allergenic (fights allergies) and is an alternative to wool sensitive customers as well as having hydro-phobic (water repellent) properties. If soaked the fabric only retains 1% of its weight in water and remains breathable. It wicks (removes moisture) when present. It will be treated with a fire retardant to reduce from any flammability dangers. Another fabric, we would use would be 84% Meryl and 16% Lycra. Meryl is a microfibre which has a soft hand, breathes and is resistant to wind as well as rain. It is ideal for lighter garments in activewear. It has UVA and UVB protection and protects the skin from long sunlight exposure. Meryl Nateo wicks moisture away from the skin and is excellent for rain, keeping the wearer dryer and moisture down should the customer be exposed to a sudden rainstorm while viewing the Olympics. It absorbs sweat faster than cotton and polyester yarns of the same count as is a great choice for activewear.
Meryl skinlife has anti bacterial properties which have bacteriostatic qualities fighting bacteria on the skin as well as allergies, odor and illness. I would utilize Meryl skinlife as a layering piece on my athletes on opening ceremonies to counteract the pollen prevalent from the new and many gardens in London. As an allergy sufferer, allergies drain your energy and can induce sinus infections if not carefully guarded against. Meryl skinlife anti bacterial properties will also last the lifetime of the garment.
With these fibers incorporated into the fabrics they should meet the customer demands for quality, durability and practicality no matter what the situation presents.
Other fibers include Olefin sub catagorized into Pe and PP. Pe (Polyethylane) has a high tenacity and low specific gravity lighter than water and is excellent in UV resistance.and is sunlight resistant. It has low static and wicks (removes moisture) away from the skin. It is very comfortable, very lightweight, has the lowest specific gravity of all fibers and it is stain and soil resistant.
PP is similar and adds quick transportation of moisture. These fibers used in conjunction with Dacron (known also as terylene (W)) is a fiber used in knit active wear known for it's high strength as well as its resistance to stretching and wrinkling. Most fabrics I have used are synthetics which monopolize the active wear market. However, Cotton Inc is working on a breakthrough process which has developed a "moisture management" technology known as Trans DRY. It is a yarn treatment which will give cotton a wicking ability to remove moisture away from the body and thus making cotton less absorbent and heavier with sweat but much more evaporative.
Tencel is another fibre which is a natural breakthrough utilizing wood pulp and cellulose. It is silk like soft, strong like polyester, cool when it needs to be cool and warm when it needs to be warm and absorbent as cotton. We will utilize organic cottons which give an ultimate softness to the hand. We will also use polyester/ rayon combinations. Polyester typically doesn't breath as well as rayon but the balance between the fibers will work to give warmth but breathing abilities through the cellulosic properties of Rayon.
As in this concept, our primary goal is to promote health and maintain health through current technology for the customer as well as the athlete so they may have the full benefits of good health to fully enjoy the 2012 Olympic games.
The colors I have chosen for this concept is based upon my research. Some color names I have chosen are from London suburbs, famous landmarks and the famous Harrods store all evoking a sense of the culture of the 2012 Olympics. Piccadilly Red and Bedford Blue and White are incorporated into the Athletes opening ceremony designs. The designs I envision are color blocked and technologically in tune with the 21st century. The designs will have a more structural design in the knit jacket utilizing color blocking and using the red as a trim and the red and white as a print utilized within the blue. Here are my color choices:
The Olympics of 2012 symbolize many things to me but most importantly they signify hope for a world that will prevail against all the hardship we have witnessed. Unity, harmony, endurance and care are at the essence of this concept and I feel it will symbolize a great joy among all mankind.
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