The process, Bidwill said, began several years ago.
“We looked at it, our fans talked about it, our players talked about it and it was something I wanted to do,” he said. “It was important to me that we honor the history of the team and part of the tradition, but also develop this uniform into something that is embraced by our fans, by our players and by everyone.”
The red home jersey features “ARIZONA” emblazoned on the front above the number for the first time. Perforated twill numbers are outlined in silver. “Protect The Nest” is embroidered on the inside of the collar. The white away kit features silver and red stripes on the shoulder of the shirt and shorts, with the numbers outlined in black and “Bird Gang” embroidered into the collar. The white helm for both outfits features a silver face mask, a larger bird head logo enhanced in 3D, and silver flakes to give it a shine, similar to the black alternate helm previously obtained with red flakes.
On the black alternate uniform, there are silver and red stripes down the shoulder and trousers, with silver outlining the twill numbers and “Bird Gang” in the collar. The black alternate helmet introduced last season also gets the larger logo.
“The three main things we focused on were how we were telling the traditional story and amplifying some elements from the past, how we were putting it through the lens of modern classic to make it feel fresh, unique and unique to the franchise feels different. and also how do we involve all of the Arizona fans and the players to really get people excited about what’s coming with this uniform?” said Kristi Lauzonis, Nike’s Design Director of Licenses and Team, who worked on the redesign.
Nike had reps go to State Farm Stadium and the Dignity Health Training Center, walk around and take photos and use that information as an anchor for the ideation process. The details go as deep as the perforated numbers representing the corrugated iron seen around the stadium, or the monochromatic logo reflecting the brand’s palate, or the silver, similar to the stadium’s exterior.
“We test all possible iterations,” Lauzonis said of the Nike Vapor FUSE (Field Utility Special Edition) outfits.
All of that came later, long after the process originally began in 2019. COVID first interrupted and then affected the further schedule. Normally, much of the design work would take place in person, reviewing fabric swatches and making face-to-face decisions.
Instead, Zoom calls were the norm, slowing down the back-and-forth. Supply chain issues also emerged. The hope had been to have new uniforms for 2022, Bidwill said, but that hasn’t materialized.
“It was time to update it,” Bidwill said.