by Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan) and Chris Johnson (@chrisdjohnsonn)
Northwestern unveiled it's new Under Armour jerseys today at Big Ten media days, with sports business reporter Darren Rovell tweeting out four photos. My initial thoughts are that the home (purple) jerseys look sharp, while the away (white) jerseys aren't as great. We'll have much more from Big Ten Media Days, including more pictures of the jerseys once NU gets here and we see them in person, but for now, here are the four photos tweeted buy Rovell. Check back with InsideNU online and on Twitter at @insidenu for much more on the jerseys and media days in general.
The breadth and variety of discussion focused on the uniform "stripe" in the wake of the uniform release is truly remarkable. It's a new look for Northwestern, but not one it hasn't sported in the past. In fact, according to complex. com, NU pioneered the football uniform stripe in the early 1900s, which explains why it's known within the design industry as the "Northwestern stripe". Under Armour senior design manager Adam Clement hopes to "reclaim the stripe" with the new kits. He pulled architectural elements from NU's campus for jersey number designs and texture. The new uniform material, termed "compfit", consists of "a compression system of high stretch fabrics intended to lock down pads and provide greater reach only where absolutely necessary.
From a sheer newness perspective, the new uniforms are a refreshing change. Aesthetic value aside, the purple and white-striped ensembles are a sleek modern look and a wholesale upgrade from the old jerseys. While the stripe is a bold switch, the overall degree of change is minimal. On the radical uniform spectrum, NU's new threads rank pretty low, especially given UA's illustrious history with college football fashion statements. NU’s tradition-bereft football history could use a sartorial blast from the past, and if the chest-arm stripe recalls at least some measure of its early tradition, all the better for the Wildcats and their attempt to incorporate a reminder of their avante-garde uniform trendsetting (“reclaiming the stripe”) while taking a forward leap by embracing a progressive uniform switch.
Update: Check out the official slideshow from NU Sports here.
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