Inside Under Armour’s NYC Pop-Up Celebrating the SlipSpeed Training Sneaker
A behind-the-scenes look at Under Armour’s NYC activation which included art from renowned artists STASH and GLOSSBLACK.
Under Armour hosted an interactive pop-up at its NYC location in celebration of the brand’s SlipSpeed sneaker, its most technically-advanced training shoe to date. The launch event, held on February 13th, which then opened up to the public on Valentine’s Day, invited local creatives, athletes, and celebrities to discover the SlipSpeed and dive deeper into the history of Under Armour.
Attendees of the opening party had the chance to customize their own UA jerseys with graphics exclusively designed by New York’s own graffiti master, STASH, personalized numbers, or UA red roses. STASH’s custom designs blended Under Armour’s sports heritage with his own fresh artistic perspective. Additionally, the event featured a custom painting and personalized mannequin art by Philadelphia-based graffiti artist GLOSSBLACK.
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Under Armour partnered with artist GLOSSBLACK, whose work amplifies the brand’s grit, resilience, and heart. Over two decades ago, when founder Kevin Plank started the brand, GLOSSBLACK also began spray painting and tagging lettering. “For this project, we leaned more towards the grittiness, the realness, and spontaneity of handwriting/tagging,” the artist shares, “Therefore, we very literally used Under Armour’s ethos as the words and tags to build up the background textures.”
Highlighting the SlipSpeed sneaker, GLOSSBLACK’s painting emphasizes the duality of the shoe’s two-mode convertible heel. Through the lens of athlete and pro trainer Rad Lopez, Hypebeast’s readers are taken along the happenings of the opening event — from the unveiling of GLOSSBLACK’s artwork, to the Under Armour bar which served customized cocktails, to checking out the technology behind the SlipSpeed. Lopez is a fan of the brand — “As soon as I put on this shoe I knew it would be a staple in my daily routine. From lacing up to go to the gym to quick cuts on the boxing floor,” he shared.
Notable attendees included Gayle King, Dapper Lou, STASH, John Varvatos, NFL players Anthony Brown and Joshua Kalu, stylist Kesha, Mickey Drexler, and more. Check out the POV video above for a rundown of the events that took place at the special Under Armour NYC pop-up. To learn more about the UA SlipSpeed sneaker, visit underarmour.com.
