Panthers uniforms get designer touch
Feb. 2—HIGH POINT — Renowned clothing designer Alexander Julian will be recognized during a High Point University basketball game this weekend for his work updating the school's men's and women's basketball uniforms and warmup outfits for this season.
The on-court presentation will come during the Family Weekend men's basketball game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Julian is a longtime friend of HPU President Nido Qubein, whose idea it was to enlist his help, Julian said.
"When Dr. Qubein and I were coming back from a UNC basketball game together, he asked me initially to do the High Point University basketball uniforms; no one can say no to Dr. Qubein," he said.
Julian, a native of Chapel Hill, is a longtime member of The Fashion Hall of Fame.
In the late 1980s, he became the first fashion designer to design professional and college sports uniforms, most iconically the NBA's C harlotte Hornets multi-striped purple and teal, followed by the UNC Tar Heels argyles.
"When I sat down to actually create something for High Point University, the process for me was the same as with the Hornets and the Tar Heels, which was to try to find something unique that's visually strong and which people can identify with the team in a split second," Julian said.
The process included researching other sports teams' panther logos.
"I was surprised to learn there are 40 or so different panther logos around the world. Looking at all of those and all the different shapes and sizes in crouching positions and snarling positions and all of that, the one thing they all had in common was the large fangs on the front teeth," he said.
The teeth led him to think of a classic pattern in design, houndstooth.
"I looked up the size of a panther's tooth and then I looked up the size of the largest hound's tooth that's out there, and a panther's tooth is approximately 30-40% larger than the largest hound's tooth. That gave me the idea to take a classic houndstooth pattern and enlarge it in scale to where it becomes a uniquely identifiable (and cool!) 'Pantherstooth,' " Julian said.
Julian's new team shooting shirts feature a large HPU Panther's head logo, with the inside filled with the Pantherstooth design. The coaches' quarter-zip knit tops are a "layered look" that appear as if the coach is wearing a white-collared purple and white dress shirt with a purple sweater vest.
"The signature textile design is the key," Julian said. "It's simple, it's timeless, and it appeals to men and women simultaneously, it's a win-win!"
