Earlier in my career I was the Director of Team Sports Apparel for Reebok and worked closely with the NFL, NBA and MLB.
I’ll admit that it has been some time since I gave a great deal of thought to team uniform colors but it was fun to think about it again in the context of the New Orleans Saints and their success on the playing field this year.
Below are excerpts from Susan Langenhennig’s article ‘Power colors: Black and gold are tops on the red carpet – and this season – on synthetic turf’ that appeared in today’s New Orleans Times Picayune.
As a power statement, black outranks blue. It’s the de facto color of intelligence and achievement. A black judge’s robe commands respect, as does the mortarboard at graduation.
Unlike red, its cohort in aggression, black is less brash, more confident, signalling “authority and prestige, ” said Kate Smith, a Virginia-based color strategist and creator of SensationalColor.com.
Perennially fashion’s favorite color, black never goes out of style. Think Chanel’s little black dress, Yves St. Laurent’s Le Smoking, James Bond’s tux. Nothing compares on the red carpet — or, this season, on synthetic turf.
The black-and-gold combination “brings the thought of prosperity, ” said Smith, who attended the recent Color Marketing Group convention in New Orleans. “Black and gold are thought of as top shelf. Whether it’s on chocolate bars or liquor bottles or football players, it signals higher quality.”
In the case of the Saints, the quality, perhaps like fine wine, just took some time to be fully realized.
See the article on The New Orleans Times Picayune…
