Amid a crackdown on the customization of its products, Nike has partnered with Rit Dye to introduce do-it-yourself tie-dye sweatshirt kits. Each kit comes with a choice of a men’s or women’s Nike sail fleece sweatshirt, two official Nike iron-on patches, and two bottles of Rit Dye. Tie-dye tools like resealable pouches, gloves, rubber bands, and squeeze bottles are also included to better help people personalize their sweatshirts.
Demand for customizable fashion has inflated over the past few months as consumers seek products made explicitly for them. The one-of-a-kind items provide a sense of individuality and creativity to their wearer, especially if the pieces include a do-it-yourself element as Nike’s does. In fact, the brand’s “By You” customization program is notorious for selling out in seconds, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same hype surrounding its tie-dye kits.
To dye for —
From the looks of promotional photos, Nike’s kits come with yellow and blue Rit Dye, allowing people to create a design with the two colors or mix them to make a green shade. The package comes with instructions that show consumers how to dye their sweatshirts in three different patterns described as Sunburst, Diagonal, or Yin and Yang, but people can always create their own designs if they want. Two resealable pouches, gloves, rubber bands, and squeeze bottles are included to ease the dyeing process.
After dyeing, the bespoke designs can be customized further with two official Nike iron-on patches. One shows a Swoosh smiley face logo wearing a Swoosh-adorned bucket hat, while the other depicts a waving hiker wearing a Swoosh baseball hat and Cortez sneakers.
Limited quantities available —
Rather than submit customers to the chaos of its “By You” customization program, Nike and Rit’s tie-dye kits will be released on August 31 via SNKRS. People will have to select whether they’d like a men’s or women’s sail fleece sweatshirt before entering a raffle to win a chance to purchase the customizable product. A price has yet to be announced, but customers should expect the kits to retail for a little over the sweatshirt’s average price of $65.
As previously mentioned, Nike’s customizable products sell out quickly, partly because the brand doesn’t offer personalized items as often as it does others. It’s also become harder to find bespoke Nike items on the market as the brand has taken on a newly aggressive stance against customs: So far, it’s doled out cease-and-desist orders and lawsuits to designers including John Geiger and Warren Lotas, as well as smaller creators customizing Air Force 1s.
Still, Nike claims “it has no desire to limit the individual expression of creatives and artisans, many of whom are some of [the brand’s] biggest fans,” and it’s doubling down on its message with its Rit Dye kits. Clearly, the brand doesn’t want to limit the personalization of its products — so long as they’re purchased straight from the source.
