Nike N7 Blanket to Benefit American Indian College Fund

October 22, 2013

Innovation meets tradition with the new Nike N7 Holiday 2013 collection, featuring a collaboration between Nike and Pendleton Woolen Mills to create a blanket to benefit the American Indian College Fund.

When sketching out the initial artwork for the blanket, Nike N7 Collection Designer Derek Roberts looked to traditional Native American dress for inspiration, specifically how patterns work together to create a garment. He started at the bottom of the blanket, with a smaller pattern of arrows that repeats and grows in scale towards the center and is a mirror-image pattern from top to bottom.

Roberts also took visual inspiration from Nike FlyKnit, and how similar to the woven threads in the FlyKnit upper, the colors of the woven wool fabric mix to create unique color tones and shapes. Adding a unique twist to the traditional Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket designs, which often feature a multitude of colors, he made the decision to use only black and white. The result is a distinctive, contrast-driven look that subtly blends the black and white to create varying gray tones that create both heathered and color-blocked designs.

“The goal with the artwork for the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket is to bridge the gap between heritage-based, traditional style and current trends to inspire the entire Nike N7 HO13 collection,” Roberts said.

The center of the blanket design prominently features the Nike N7 mark—three arrows pointing back to signify past generations, three arrows pointing forward to signify future generations, and arrows in the center to represent the current generation. The arrows, sometimes appearing as triangles or other shapes, convey both movement and balance.

The blanket is reversible for a positive/negative visual effect–with a black base on one side and white on the other—and includes the iconic blue Pendleton Woolen Mills badge with black and cream Nike N7 label.
A portion of the proceeds from sales of the blanket will benefit the American Indian College Fund, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students.

Four other styles in the HO13 Nike N7 collection were inspired by the PWM Nike N7 blanket artwork:

PWM N7 Windrunner Jacket:
Elements of the N7 artwork from the blanket design inspire the decorative sleeves on the iconic Nike Windrunner jacket for a neutral yet strong and modern look that is rooted in traditional values. Embroidery stitching is featured on the sleeves and the N7 logo is both inside the jacket and on the chest. The jacket also features reflectivity for visibility in the elements.
PWM N7 Graphic Tee:
On the men’s and women’s Nike N7 Graphic Tee, the scale of the blanket pattern is exaggerated and placed on the shoulder of the men’s tee and waist of women’s for a dynamic and distinct look. The white-on-black graphic is comprised of small lines that relate back to the actual fibers of the blanket to create a fade effect. Both tees also include decorative stitching.
PWM N7 Air Force 1 Hight and PWM N7 Roshe Run:
For the men’s Nike N7 Air Force One and women’s Nike N7 Roshe Run, a lighter wool fabric was created by Pendleton Woolen Mills that features a representation of the pattern on the bottom of the blanket. The neutral patterned fabric creates contrast with the solid black upper of both styles.

N7 Collection
The PWM N7 Blanket will be available at nike.com and Pendleton.com
The PWM N7 Windrunner Jacket, PWM N7 Air Force 1 High and PWM N7 Roshe Run, as well as additional styles from the HO13 Nike N7 collection, including the Nike N7 Hoodie, Graphic T-shirt, Logo T-shirt and Zone Short, and the Nike Zoom Wildhorse N7 and Nike FREE Forward Moc 2 N7, will be available beginning Oct. 26 at www.nike.com, and Nike and FootLocker locations across the United States and Canada.

21 Mercer will also feature the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mill fabric for a limited time as part of its bespoke offerings.
The Nike N7 collection of apparel and footwear supports the N7 Fund and its mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North American to participate in sport and physical activity. The N7 Collection highlights the N7 philosophy—In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations—and also embodies Nike’s Considered Design ethos to create performance product engineered for superior athletic performance and lower environmental impact.

N7 Fund
Since the Nike N7 collection launched in 2009, more than $2 million has been raised for Native American and Aboriginal youth sport programs through the N7 Fund. Nike N7 and the N7 Fund are aligned with Designed to Move, a growing community of public, private and civil sector organizations (including Nike) dedicated to ending the growing epidemic of physical inactivity. For Nike N7 Collection retail locations and for more information about Nike N7, visit www.niken7.com, or follow Nike N7 on Facebook and @NikeN7.

Pendleton
Setting the standard for classic American style, Pendleton is recognized worldwide as a symbol of American heritage, authenticity and craftsmanship. With six generation of family ownership since 1863, the company celebrates 150 years of weaving fabric in the Pacific Northwest in 2013. Pendleton owns and operates two of America’s remaining woolen mills, constantly updating them with state-of-the art looms and eco-friendly technology. Inspired by its heritage, the company designs and produces apparel for men and women, blankets, home décor and gifts. Pendleton is available through select retailers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia; Pendleton stores; company catalogs and direct-to-consumer channels including the Pendleton website, http://www.pendleton-usa.com.