Nike Showcases 2014 Football Innovations

Earlier today at an event in Madrid, Nike showcased their entire football collection that was inspired by the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. It featured many top apparel and equipment innovations, and there were actually a few designs that we haven’t seen before. The event basically was a giant showcasing of all Nike football (soccer) products, and judging from what I have heard it didn’t disappoint. Nike’s categories of products on display were grouped into either Player Collections, Off-Pitch, or Expansion of the Collection. And with the Mercurial Vapor X set to be released tomorrow, Nike has basically gone center stage and grabbed all the headlines for the next few days.

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Player Collections

Both home and away jerseys of the top ten federations that were set to wear Nike jerseys were on display. Each kit features unique cultural design elements, and they all feature high tech innovation such as Laser Cut ventilation, engineered mesh, and Dri-Fit technology. Nike’s top countries include Brazil, France, England, United States, Netherlands, Portugal, and many more teams that will make a big impact during the summer. Seeing the various jerseys on display together just shows us Nike’s prominence and power in the market.

Known as the “Athlete Journey” collection, Nike supplies players with gear for warm-ups, anthems, playing and training, media appearances, travel, and leisure time in training camps. The displays give us an idea of what we can expect the respective countries to be wearing before, during and after the World Cup games. Select training tops, perforated shell guards, LS Mid-Layer Tee, Woven Jacket and Short will be with the players during the Tournament.

“The overall goal was to create iconic and memorable pieces for the players to wear throughout their time in Brasil,” said Lotti (Creative Director for Nike Football).  “This is the biggest moment in their football careers; we wanted to deliver players our very best product to help them perform their best on-pitch and inspire them off-pitch.” -Martin Lotti

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Off-Pitch

Nike also created Off-Pitch lifestyle collections for fans to wear when they aren’t sporting their country’s jerseys. The styles include the N98 Track Jacket, Nike League Polo, Tech Pant, Tech Fleece Full Zip Hoody, the IRD Saturday Jacket, and Tiempo ’94. The designs, many of which are part of Nike F.C., honor players who “Risk Everything” and have tenacity and resilience.

Find out more about Nike F.C. here. 

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Expansion of the Collection

To help expand their collections, Nike worked with the Women’s Training Team, Nike+, Hurley, and Jordan brands to create more pieces related to World Cup football. The Women’s Training Team created Tights of the Moment as well as a special edition of  the Nike Free 1.0 Cross Bionic to go along with the Brasil, France, England, and U.S. inspired tights. The Jordan Brand contributed by creating a special Air Jordan 6 edition to celebrate Brasil’s hunt for another (their 6th) star. Also keep an eye out for a bigger Jordan Collection which will be released in the coming weeks. Also included in the event was a new colorway for the Nike+ Fuelband. It is a Yellow Gold METALUXE edition for the players and staff in the World Cup. They feature the federation logos and a ‘picahua’ graphic. The Picahua graphic will also be seen in a limited edition of the Nike Ordem Match Ball.

Hurley will offer Phantom Boardshorts in National Team versions for France, U.S., and Brasil. These boardshorts will actually be worn by Hurley team riders from their respective regions leading up to the ASP WCT event in Rio de Janeiro.

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Highlights

My personal favorite from the event has got to be the boot chandelier. It seems as if Nike stopped at nothing in preparing for this event, as the chandelier consists of a huge number of boots and must have taken forever to set up. The chandelier has three tiers, the first consisting of Tiempo Legends, the second of the recently released Magista, and the last of Hypervenoms. The Hypervenom colorway shown in the chandelier is actually set to be the colorway worn in the World Cup. Obviously, the notable omission was the Mercurial Vapor because the Vapor X is set to be released tomorrow!

Another one of the highlights has got to be the Limited Edition Colorway of the Nike Ordem Match Ball. The Picahua design has a lot going on but is a real winner. The complex print truly stands out and I would love to see how it looks on the pitch.

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What is your favorite football innovation that was showcased by Nike? Let us know in the comments below!