Curry Brand, powered by Under Armour, is launching a seven-part footwear collection that brings the spirit of Sesame Street’s iconic Muppets to the basketball court.
Basketball icon Stephen Curry, father to three kids under the age of nine, felt that partnering with Sesame Workshop – the nonprofit educational organisation behind Sesame Street – would be a natural extension of his recent efforts to celebrate Harlem and inspire young athletes.
“Curry Brand and Sesame Street, we preach the same message,” says Curry, a three-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP. “It’s about supporting all kids, especially those in underserved communities who are looking for an opportunity to be their best selves.”
Curry Brand’s Street Pack includes seven colourways based on Sesame Street’s iconic characters, who are celebrated with unique markings on the shoe’s tongue tab and a hint-of-character flag near the heel. The classic Sesame Street sign is also featured on the sock liner.
The ‘Count It’ colourway, for example, brings to life Count von Count, with the shiny tongue tab reflecting the satin exterior of The Count’s cape and the shoe’s interior matching the cape’s colourful lining. ‘Talking Trash’, based on Oscar the Grouch, has a metallic tongue tab as a nod to the trash can, while the tongue tab on Cookie Monster’s ‘Taking Cookies’ and other shoe tabs has a fuzzy, fur-like feel.
“This collection is an opportunity for people to use their imaginations a little bit,” Curry says. “You can really show your personality through the way that you play. I love to be creative on the court, try new things, and show different sides of myself. The Sesame Street characters prove that everybody belongs in the world of play.”
The Curry Flow 9 shoe design builds on the success of the Curry Flow 8. This updated design features a fine-tuned UA Flow traction pattern and the introduction of UA Warp, Under Armour’s new-to-basketball upper technology that improves foot stability. UA Warp works in tandem with UA Flow, featuring supportive tapes that lock the foot onto the UA Flow midsole while allowing for natural movement.
Given the intricate structure of the shoe and the array of stylisations, Under Armour designers took great care to celebrate Sesame Street’s characters.
“The hardest part was making sure we achieved a sense of depth and sophistication in our designs,” says Spencer Hawkins, a senior footwear designer at Under Armour. “We didn’t just say, ‘Elmo is red, so the whole shoe is red.’ We played with a lot of different tonalities of red, and we brought in hints of orange to represent the nose. Every single colourway is a unique story celebrating not only the unique physical attributes of the characters but also what each character can teach us about building a better, more inclusive neighborhood.”
The first two releases in Curry Brand’s Sesame Street collection will be the ‘Count It’ and ‘Play Big’ colourways – in celebration of Count von Count and Big Bird – dropping in North America on 19 November ($160 US).
Additional Street Pack footwear colourways and apparel will be released in the ensuing months.
