You can't clip these wings - City Connect jerseys

[Moose Milligan]

 

[AdamK]

Maybe it is the rolled sleeves and the pops of color around the neck, but the more I look at these the more I see Rosie the Riveter meets Grease. 

Hope that doesn't ruin it for anyone.

 

[Hazmat]

7 hours ago, justD said:

Some IG pics

 

My goodness.  Can you imagine Koji U. wearing that uniform on a hot summer day?  He'd melt into a puddle of goo right on the mound.

[BRobinsonfan]

23 hours ago, HandsomeQuack said:

Nike designs what they want to design and backs their way into the BS "storytelling" later. Wow, real deep, there's more to Baltimore than meets the eye.

 

Do you have actual evidence for this, or is it just your opinion influenced by your dislike of the design?

[BRobinsonfan]

6 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

Look what they've done to my boy...

The top looks like the knockoff "jerseys" that street vendors sell outside of stadiums for $10 with the decal already flaking off.

The white belt is absolutely ghastly. At least use the multicolor scheme on the belt.

Yeah... not a fan of the white belt at all.  And while the Jersey looks a lot better being worn than I thought it would, I think orange pants would have made the whole look "pop" a lot more.  

[BRobinsonfan]

You know, when the jersey pictures were leaked, I didn't like them.  Then when it was released yesterday, I thought "I kinda like that." But now today, I'm back to "I don't like this."  The more I look at them, the less I like them.  Having lived in Baltimore years ago, I actually love the concept behind the uniforms... "we're more than what we seem," diverse neighborhoods, etc.  I just don't think they executed the concept particularly well.  

Having been a part of marketing/branding efforts for a few Fortune 100/500 companies, I can tell you that sometimes the problem is too many cooks in the kitchen.  I have NO IDEA if that's what happened here, but it has that feel.  Rather than handing it off to a small design team, everyone wants to "put their mark on the process" so they can say they contributed and to justify their budgets.  

In the end, this looks like it was either the result of a 1st generation AI artistic design program or a massive corporate collective effort where everybody and their sister had "input." 

Edited May 23, 2023 by BRobinsonfan

[AdamK]

15 minutes ago, BRobinsonfan said:

You know, when the jersey pictures were leaked, I didn't like them.  Then when it was released yesterday, I thought "I kinda like that." But now today, I'm back to "I don't like this."  The more I look at them, the less I like them.  Having lived in Baltimore years ago, I actually love the concept behind the uniforms... "we're more than what we seem," diverse neighborhoods, etc.  I just don't think they executed the concept particularly well.  

Having been a part of marketing/branding efforts for a few Fortune 100/500 companies, I can tell you that sometimes the problem is too many cooks in the kitchen.  I have NO IDEA if that's what happened here, but it has that feel.  Rather than handing it off to a small design team, everyone wants to "put their mark on the process" so they can say they contributed and to justify their budgets.  

In the end, this looks like it was the result of a 1st generation AI artistic design program.   

This is where I am too. Was disappointed, then somewhat changed by the premise/poem/conceptual details, and now (knowing the story) I'm not loving the execution of the concept. I see a black polyester jumpsuit with fashionably rolled sleeves and a saucy neckerchief.

But like you, I like the concept. I have also been part of creative teams pitching multiple concepts (Bears and Bulls to name a few), and relate to how winning ideas creep away from where it started in the room where inspiration first took hold.

Having never lived in Baltimore, but have come in for the Inner Harbor or historical sightseeing or games dozens of times, my attachment to the city is not that of a resident and its apparent I am not the target market for this. Which is fine. I get that.

 

Judging the look after digesting the story AND considering the necessary function required, I think it's a strikeout looking. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by AdamK

[Billy F-Face3]

I can't say that I was disappointed in these, because after seeing the City Connect uniforms of the San Diego Padres making baseball players look like Care Bears, I was expecting the worst. The fact that they went the safe route with all black doesn't bother me as much as Rainbow Brite looking uniforms would.

For all I care they can wear black Hefty plastic bags if they want to, so long as long as they keep winning.

[HandsomeQuack]

1 hour ago, BRobinsonfan said:

Do you have actual evidence for this, or is it just your opinion influenced by your dislike of the design?

Just the impression I am under based on years of Nike doing this, first in college football, then NBA and now MLB. I don't think the O's CCs are the worst example of this but a lot of times the narratives they attach with the unveilings verge on cringe-inducing.

And the goal of the City Connects is to sell jerseys, and the design is the most important factor in achieving that goal.

[SemperFi]

15 hours ago, DocJJ said:

I still think they're pretty bad.... yet I want one anyway?  Can someone explain this psychological phenomenon?

 

It sounds like marriage to me...

[RVAOsFan]

So are these uniforms going to debut this weekend at home against the Rangers? Sorry if I missed it somewhere

[Malike]

2 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

So are these uniforms going to debut this weekend at home against the Rangers? Sorry if I missed it somewhere

Yes, and then they will be the Friday night uniform (at home, of course).

Edited May 23, 2023 by Malike

[RVAOsFan]

8 minutes ago, Malike said:

Yes, and then they will be the Friday night uniform (at home, of course).

Thanks!

[Moose Milligan]

2 hours ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

I can't say that I was disappointed in these, because after seeing the City Connect uniforms of the San Diego Padres making baseball players look like Care Bears, I was expecting the worst. The fact that they went the safe route with all black doesn't bother me as much as Rainbow Brite looking uniforms would.

For all I care they can wear black Hefty plastic bags if they want to, so long as long as they keep winning.

I actually like the San Diego ones because they were unabashedly San Diego.  The colors mean something to that area and they went LOUD on those jerseys.  They didn't give a ****.  

They should have gone loud and proud here for the Orioles jerseys, too.  I'm not saying pastels because that doesn't fit with the Baltimore vibe...but the whole "you have to look past what you initially see" is really dumb, IMO.  They should have just come out swinging with some bright orange, Maryland flag, whatever and been in your face..."Oh, you outsiders think Baltimore is some gloomy city, well It's NOT AND HERE'S WHY, THIS IS OUR CULTURE" and just gone over the top with it.

No, instead it's all black with some hints of color and "we designed the insides of our jerseys" because, like Baltimore, you have to look closer to see the spirit of the city.   Whatever.

 

 

[Alasdaire]

 

6 hours ago, SemperFi said:

And likely not baseball fans at all.  My educated quess (I've done it in another sport) is that the concept goes from MLB  to Nike's marketing department with the mock ups going to the Orioles for approval.  Don't know how much feedback or change is accepted, at least that's how it was done in similar circumstances.

The colorful interior (please reference the above) adds color but who really cares about the interior of a uniform?  The pattern looks too 2020's to me (similar to some alternate NBA) which are largely Nike too.  I'm older and enjoy classical looks which transcend eras, I hate it when you look at a uniform (or suit) and instantly identify an era like synthetics or tri tone hats.

 

3 hours ago, BRobinsonfan said:

You know, when the jersey pictures were leaked, I didn't like them.  Then when it was released yesterday, I thought "I kinda like that." But now today, I'm back to "I don't like this."  The more I look at them, the less I like them.  Having lived in Baltimore years ago, I actually love the concept behind the uniforms... "we're more than what we seem," diverse neighborhoods, etc.  I just don't think they executed the concept particularly well.  

Having been a part of marketing/branding efforts for a few Fortune 100/500 companies, I can tell you that sometimes the problem is too many cooks in the kitchen.  I have NO IDEA if that's what happened here, but it has that feel.  Rather than handing it off to a small design team, everyone wants to "put their mark on the process" so they can say they contributed and to justify their budgets.  

In the end, this looks like it was either the result of a 1st generation AI artistic design program or a massive corporate collective effort where everybody and their sister had "input." 

Adding another guess to how this process might have gone, maybe it was the case that Nike wanted to try out a few of these design elements for future use, and they used the Orioles city connects as a guinea pig. Meaning that independent of anything about Baltimore, they had these ideas of patchy letters and a single-tone color scheme with the flair coming from rolling up the sleeves/turning over the socks/popping the collar. The narratives about the city's grit, diverse neighborhoods, and having more beneath the surface were just used after the fact to justify the design they wanted to experiment with anyway, which is why it feels so forced.

But then on top of that they just made shockingly bad color choices.