Torch red, legacy yellow and infinity black.
The Hawks have three brand new uniforms, but all three have a vintage vibe to them, largely because of the bold color scheme. Over the years, bright red and yellow hues have been the most commonly used colors for the Hawks, and their new looks return to those roots, with a modern touch.
“We wanted to bring back a modern feel to a classic, iconic uniform,” Hawks’ VP of Creative Shirley Zhang said. “It started with just looking at our history in the sense of what is our heritage and what is the homage that we can pay going into the next evolution of our modern sports? In looking at our 51 seasons of being the Atlanta Hawks with 35 seasons of the colors of legacy yellow, torch red and what we call infinity black, proudly worn for 35 seasons, it was a no-brainer for us to pay homage, in the sense of picking out those colors.”
Credit: Atlanta Hawks
Credit: Atlanta Hawks
The brighter yellow and red shades, in particular, are likely the most identifiable with Hawks’ branding, invoking the days of Dominique Wilkins and other former Hawks stars. The Hawks are hanging up the “volt green” color and triangle pattern background used in their previous uniforms, which were unveiled in 2015, and went with a much simpler look.
The red and white version display the word “Atlanta” across the chest, with “Hawks” across the chest of the black version, which is the jersey that originally leaked Friday. All three jerseys feature a solid background, bright lettering (with a retro-style font, inspired by athletic fonts from the team’s uniforms from the late ’60s to early ’80s), in contrast to the background color and striped sides. The Hawks’ primary icon logo remains the same, and is featured on the side of the uniform’s shorts, though they added new primary and secondary logos. The word “Hawks” is on the waistband of the red and white jerseys, and “ATL” is on the waistband of the black jersey.
The black jersey has a Jordan Brand logo on the left side, and according to NBA.com, the Jumpman logo will appear on every “Statement Edition” uniform starting with the 2020-21 season: “The Statement Edition uniform design sets the tone for big games or rivalries and make a bold statement every time they step on the court — a natural connection to Jordan Brand’s namesake and the legend’s approach to the game.”
The new jerseys are similar to that of the Hawks’ G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, and that of their NBA 2K team, Hawks Talon GC, which helps with brand alignment.
There haven’t been traditional “home” and “away” jerseys since the league partnered with Nike beginning with the 2017-18 season, so teams have more freedom to switch up their uniforms, but by Nike’s classification system, the white jersey is “association,” the red jersey is “icon” and the black jersey is “statement.” “Association” jerseys, previously known as home uniforms, are white, “icon” jerseys, previously known as road uniforms, feature a team’s main color and “statement” jerseys are bolder and vary from market to market.
Credit: Atlanta Hawks
Credit: Atlanta Hawks
Getting back to the Hawks’ classic color scheme was intentional, and was a focus from the beginning.
“There was a huge purpose in bringing back something that’s part of our history and part of our legacy and owning it from a classic and timeless perspective, and hoping that one day we will win a championship with whatever this new uniform was, maybe,” Zhang said.
The uniform change has been in the works for around two years, with owners Tony Ressler and Jami Gertz involved every step of the way. The goal was to create something that honored the legacy of the Hawks as an organization, but also something that was updated and modern.
“Timeless and classic, and really building a brand that could stand the test of time,” chief marketing officer Melissa Proctor said. “Sometimes there are a lot of those nuances, colors that are on trend, and things like that, but we really wanted to be able to build something that really represents the Atlanta Hawks and is true to Atlanta.”
The Hawks will still get the chance to innovate and push the envelope each season through Nike’s City Edition uniform initiative.
“I think the difference that we had the benefit from over the past couple of years, with Nike as a partner is the City Edition initiative,” Proctor said. “So with that, every year there will be an opportunity to continue to innovate and push the brand further with a City Edition look that will be completely separate from our core. So really, by doing this timeless and classic core, we wanted a strong foundation for the look and feel of the team for now, into the future.”
Also, clean designs for these three jerseys allows people and fans to pair the jersey with a wide variety of clothes to form different looks.
“Taking a step back and simplifying the uniform a little bit, tying back into the fashion these days of layering on, giving your own touches to how you want to rep a uniform, so we just simplified first and foremost,” Zhang said.
So far, the Hawks are encouraged by the reaction to the new uniforms, particularly players’ reactions.
“Fire, that’s what I keep hearing,” Proctor said. “I think it’s a welcome change, and I think based on the goal of building this timeless and classic look, the guys have responded very well to it. I think they appreciate something that makes them feel good when they walk out on the court. We look at it as homecourt advantage. By them feeling good in the uniforms that they have on, ideally that’s going to get them ready for the game.”
Credit: Atlanta Hawks
Credit: Atlanta Hawks
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