Nike partners Pendleton Woolen mills to create N7 blanket

When sketching out the initial artwork for the blanket, Nike N7 Collection Designer Derek Roberts looked to traditional Native American dress for inspiration, specifically how patterns work together to create a garment. He started at the bottom of the blanket, with a smaller pattern of arrows that repeats and grows in scale towards the center and is a mirror-image pattern from top to bottom. 

Roberts also took visual inspiration from Nike Flyknit, with the PWM Nike N7 Blanket's woven wool fabric mixing to create unique color tones and shapes. Adding a unique twist to the traditional Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket designs, which often feature a multitude of colors, he made the decision to use only black and white. The result is a distinctive, contrast-driven look that subtly blends black and white to create rich gray tones that appear both heathered and color-blocked throughout the design.

“The goal with the artwork for the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mills Blanket was to bridge the gap between heritage-based, traditional style and current trends in a way that would inspire the entire Nike N7 Holiday 2013 collection,” Roberts said.

The center of the blanket design prominently features the Nike N7 mark—three arrows pointing back to signify past generations, three arrows pointing forward to signify future generations, and arrows in the center to represent the current generation. The arrows sometimes appearing as triangles or other shapes, convey both movement and balance.

The blanket is reversible for a positive/negative visual effect, with a black base on one side and white on the other, and includes the iconic blue Pendleton Woolen Mills badge with black and cream Nike N7 label.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the blanket will benefit the American Indian College Fund, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students

Nike