When it comes to fleece, Nike believes it has built a better mousetrap.
Although the fabric in its countless iterations saturates the market, the Oregon-based sports brand is introducing Studio Fleece, a line it is billing as: “The Ultimate Uniform for the Everyday Athlete.”
“Anyone can make fleece,” said Jill Gonzalez, senior manager of product line management for Nike. “It’s a very oversaturated space. But our approach to Studio Fleece has been really exciting. We look at everything at through the lens of innovation. And we are introducing a completely new integrated system that is all about driving choice through the lens of seasonality with our materials and fits.”
This “unified system of considered sportswear staples” was developed from the feedback of more than 300 women globally to ensure softness, comfort, structure and color performance. The collection offers tops and bottoms in two fits and three weights in a variety of colorways.
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There is a classic standard fit as well as a roomier oversize silhouette in either light, medium or heavyweight. The light and medium weights offer a five-time sueded face treatment for softness while the heavyweight features a brushed, reverse-heather construction.
Birch heather as well as Total Black are the key colors for Studio Fleece and the Total Black version was created using a new dye process. “It’s really based around this idea that black is her go-to wardrobe staple,” Gonzalez said. “But we know that she’s really frustrated with how quickly it can fade. So Nike Total Black is actually a brand new dye recipe. Not only is it deeper and richer in color, it has incredible color fastness as well so that great deep black color will last for at least 30 washes.”
She continued: “Consumers, now more than ever, are really particular about what they’re buying. They’re using their money wisely and they want things to last. So this is a perfect innovation to answer that durability they’re looking for.”
Hood construction, proportions, trims and finishes were updated to create a more elevated offering and Studio Fleece also sports a Lyon blue label to distinguish it from the traditional fleece offerings.
“For Studio Fleece, we challenged every element of the product, refining proportions, materials and finishes to create a fleece system that feels more considered, more versatile and distinctly Nike,” said Claire Durfe, lead apparel designer.
But Nike didn’t forget the guys. In conjunction with the women’s Studio Fleece collection, it is also offering Solo Fleece, a medium weight men’s hoodie with a brushed back main body material, slightly cropped and boxier fit, self-lined darted hood and 3D-embroidered Swoosh.
“Solo Fleece is really the friend to Studio,” Gonzalez said, “taking that same ideology and Nike innovation through the lens of men.”
To launch the collection, Nike has turned to athletes and cultural ambassadors to star in the campaign. They include Alysa Liu, Jazzy Davidson, Sha’Carri Richardson, Moses Itauma, Lauren James and Reece James as well as artists Karina and Yeat.
“Nike sportswear in general is built around the intersection of sports style and culture, and culture is such a big component of that,” Gonzalez said. “So as we think about culture and how we’ve built Studio Fleece on the product side to be the blank canvas for them to outfit and style and customize, the athletes and all the talent that we have in this campaign really exemplify the ethos of Studio Fleece.”
The Studio Fleece collection will retail for $60 to $95 and will launch online and at select wholesale accounts in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Thursday and globally beginning on Sept. 1.
Nike has been undergoing a restructuring under chief executive officer Elliott Hill that includes a shift back to performance sports, a rebuilding of its relationships with wholesale partners and better inventory control. But while the company is making progress, the road has been a rocky one and Hill said last month that the brand is “not living up to our full potential, particularly in Nike sportswear and Jordan streetwear. Sell-through remains challenged, impacting both current discounting and future order books.”
Whether the Studio Fleece launch will serve to reverse that trend remains to be seen.
