Nike NBA ALL-STAR
What we dID
While tunnels are typically hidden passageways, the NBA tunnel has become one of the most visible and anticipated platforms, a passage providing access to basketball fans. As a result, the NBA has arguably become the most influential stage for fashion globally.
The initial dress code targeted “hip hop and streetwear culture.” However, players like LBJ began to embrace the dress code and revolutionize NBA fashion, and even furthermore street fashion & high fashion as we know it today. What was meant to suppress individual expression, became an opportunity for revolution, for progress.
Creative Concepting
Video & Photo Production
Social Content
Paid Media
App Threads
Web
Email
CREATIVE CONCEPTING
We set out to amplify the rule benders who stretch your expectations to the point of discomfort without even breaking a sweat. The tightrope walkers who never quite cross the line, but toe it confidently. Stylists, Kahlana Barfield Brown and Dex Robinson, are exactly that.
Kahlana is a game-changing fashion and beauty editor & expert who encourages others to embrace their beauty within and make fashion their own. Dex? The stylist and the brain behind your favorite celebrity athletes ‘fits. He’s crafted looks for names such as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Quincy Combs.
Throughout our premium photo and video shoot, we followed Dex and Kahlana as they worked their magic behind the scenes – styling each Nike shoe in two different ways. We leaned into the greater Nike 'Never Done' messaging and campaign creative for 2022 through curated photos of styled models, BTS, interviews, and sneak-peeks into the stylist's shoe collections (For SNKRS Fitted and Paid Media). Every piece of the production was crucial to telling their stories and giving consumers the best tips on how to instantly elevate their fashion game.
PHOTO & VIDEO PRODUCTION
The tunnel is the athlete’s moment to get into their vibe. Look good, play good. Their style represents how they feel that morning and it’s supposed to translate to how they play. So at our shoot, we captured the raw emotion in our talent. We leaned into lots and lots of personality and facial expressions.
We then paired that personality with our stark white backdrop— with colors and ‘fits made to pop against the white. Utilizing lots of deep shadowing and a singular, frontal key light, we made a nod to high fashion, while making sure that the styling was front and center. By incorporating modern, high-end basketball elements props such as a matte black hoop or a modern-looking bench, we brought the basketball element out a bit more literally. Through sleek, yet expressive set design, we gave a nod to the tunnel fashion that came before, while leaving space for a new remix.
SOCIAL MEDIA
In partnership with Kahlana Barfield and Dex Robinson, we created paid and organic content that provided the audience with insider tips on how to take styling to the next level. Our graphic overlays included chalk-drawing-like annotations which paid homage to basketball move-making and brought a simple new flair to the creative without taking attention away from the starring styles. Our celebratory energy was well-received as the organic posts were some of the top-performing Reel content on both the Influencer channels and Nike Sportswear Channels.
APP THREADS
For the Nike App, we embraced the opportunity to dive deeper into Dex and Kahlana’s stories and into their points of view on styling. We brought each look to life and celebrated how each shoe was styled in two ways, but how the possibilities were endless. The app threads not only showed off these looks and poses, but they featured insightful quotes to encourage users to step out, rep their favorite team, and look their best selves throughout the weekend and beyond.
WEB
The photography was also featured across Nike’s website. We selected concise pieces of styling tips to instantly inspire people to participate and express their individual selves. We leaned into the hero “Never Done” messaging paired with imagery featuring key Nike basketball classics to bring to life around All-Star weekend and beyond.
Reinforcing the storytelling found on social/web/ app, we created emails that spotlight our stylist’s tips, while amplifying the endless possibilities of the AF1 and the Blazer.
