The Spark Magazine (Jun 2018)

The Spark | Ignite/Connect/Achieve
www.thesparkng.com
Freestyle
The Nigerian
Jersey
For me personally,
researching this
project introduced me
to Naija hip hop and
“now I am obsessed!
“
Meet Dan Farron, the designer behind the viral Nigerian Jersey
which sold out after 3 million pre-orders.
- By Toyin Eleniyan
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Tell us a little about your background and how you joined the
Nike team in capacity of the design director?
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Originally from Southeast London, I studied Fashion Design at
University, specializing in Sportswear during my final year. My
first professional work in design after finishing my studies was at
Umbro, where I had the opportunity to work in multiple fields,
from performance to sportswear. Living in the Northwest of
England gave me a deep insight and immersion into football
culture. From there I moved to Nike Golf in Portland Oregon,
but Football remained one of my passions, and I joined the Nike
Football design team in Amsterdam. In 2015, I moved back to
the Nike Headquarters to the position of Design Director, Nike
Football. As a sport, Football is hugely enticing due to the speed
of change and evolution within the sport, plus the sheer global
reach; these make for an exciting working environment.
What was your brief when designing the Nigeria kit?
The Nigeria kit was briefed as a collection. A group of designers
from graphics, product and footwear worked collaboratively and
built a concept that breathes culture and performance. The onpitch
kit will always be the ‘shining star’; but the beauty of Naija
was the full collection with all the additional pieces. We really
wanted to take the Naija culture to an international audience, so
that it was visible not just within Nigeria itself, but on a platform
for all football fans worldwide.
Where did you draw inspiration?
The team drew inspiration from multiple sources; for the overall
concept, we were inspired by the fusion of music, fashion, art and
sport across the globe amongst Nigerians. The more research
we undertook, the more we saw the links between athlete and
artists: they are all connected in some way and inspired by each
other. For the kit, we were inspired by Nigeria and Nike’s kit
from 1994 - a special era for football kits - as well as a bold
graphic inspired by eagle feathers. The home kit has to be a
strong identity for the players and especially the fans, whilst the
away kit is a stealth/smart design for the modern-day player; and
there is great overall harmony between the two.
Kindly talk us through the design process
At Nike, everything starts with the athletes; we started to build
this performance product in 2015 based on player insights from
across the globe. We are constantly driving new innovation to
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keep improving performance levels, even before we approach
and consider team aesthetics. The next stage is to create a
concept or story that ties to the football federation and fan
culture, a critical step that involves deep research into both
aspects. The designs for the collection are reviewed internally
by football and design leadership before we present to the
federation and players for their comments and contributions.
This design process allows us to really push the boundaries of
design so that we can take Nike football into a new era.
The response to the Nigerian kit has been unprecedented,
was this something you anticipated?
If I am honest, the answer is both yes and no. At every stage of
designing and producing this collection, I have been amazed
and delighted by the broader reactions; but I also knew we
were creating something incredibly special. Initial presentations
to players and the federation in November 2016 produced an
amazing reaction. Nike put together the launch of a lifetime
this February, adding Naija to the long list of innovation and
collections for Russia and beyond. Since then, the public
reaction has been incredible and the team is truly humbled by
the outpouring of love for this collection.
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