Try to remember the last time you watched a sports event – was it the result that fascinated you the most? Or maybe you’ve noticed the clever designs of the players’ uniforms that made you want to buy a copy at the merchandise store? Nowadays, fashion plays a crucial role on par with professional sports itself.
But what changed is that behind those smart looks and flashy designs there is a plethora of data, statistics and advanced analytics, closely linked to it. This is how the future looks like, when big data determines everything, even how the athletes should look on the field.
Fashion’s new brain centre: the analytics hub
Traditionally, the design of sports uniforms and merchandise is in the hands of purchasing departments or the brand and fashion houses themselves. But in recent times, analysts have become part of the equation. These data science-driven experts examine patterns, user behaviour and purchasing power to make precise recommendations on what drives optimal performance and sales results.
This means that athletes’ equipment and uniforms are literally dissected down to the smallest detail to assess its benefits and appeal. Decisions such as patterns, colours, logos and materials are all subject to sober analysis before design approval. Nothing is left to gut instinct. Predicting results of sports events is the same: before placing a bet on the 4rabet app, available for download at the link you need to thoroughly analyze everything that surrounds the game, use all the data available and only then make the decision.
Data optimisation of uniforms
Attention to detail shines through in professional sports uniforms. Take the NBA basketball team Phoenix Suns uniform for the 2021 season. Player and fan feedback informed the design’s minimalist, futuristic style and eye-catching orange/purple colour scheme.
The Chicago Blackhawks hockey team replaced their traditional red jerseys in 2022 with more high-energy, electric black and red striped ones based on fan data about their buying and supporting behaviour.
Have your say on next season’s look
In the data-optimised sports fashion era, player acceptance is also moving from one-way to two-way communication. Long-established clubs like Juventus and Manchester United now allow their loyal fans to voice their preferences for next season’s uniforms.
Athletics organisations have begun to include social media, surveys and fan communities in the decision-making process for the design of next year’s kit. The growing streams of feedback and user-generated data are filtered for behavioural trends and then converted into tailored designs.
The fan shop has also become smart
The fashion use of advanced analytics doesn’t stop at the uniform or shirt itself. Data optimisation goes hand in hand with merchandise design and marketing. For example, analytics identifies which symbols, logos and colours create the most recognition and upselling for commercial fan products.
Club and league fan webshops use algorithms to decode which print designs, sportswear materials and product types to push to their supporters based on historical sales data. At Manchester United, advanced purchase analytics are used to target merchandise products, including exactly where the club’s distinctive devil logo should be placed for optimal selling power.
Sport has turned into a science
A new change in culture, with digitalization and more professional equipment in mind, makes the fashion shift too. In the old days designers decided what jersey the athlete would wear based on instinct, now big data and merchandise sales support their every move.
Next time you see your favourite team live or on TV be prepared that their uniform might be eye-catching and stimulating not only for your fashion sense, but for your brain. This resulted from precisely crafted work of a human designer and up-to-date algorithm, who made a state of art product that is destined to be sold out.