Edison Chen Bridges Basketball Culture and Chinese Tradition in New Apparel Collection

CLOT Creative Director Edison Chen’s latest effort with Nike is a basketball collection, including a jersey, shorts, jacket and headband, celebrating the summer’s premier basketball tournament in China. He uses the moment — China’s first hosting of global play since 2008 — as a springboard to honor his heritage and to connect tradition to sport. Chen does so with an unexpected thread: Chinese lion dancing.

“We’re from China, and lion dancing is something that has always been a part of our culture" explains Chen. "It means celebration, longevity, good fortune and good luck — all things that you wish to have on the basketball court"

The collection’s aesthetic borrows from costumes commonly worn during the lion dance. Most notably, the lion head on the jersey incorporates extra flap details to enhance a sense of movement. Similarly, the trim loops of the jersey and headband follow costume conventions. "The added loops are for you to accessorize and customize the garment to your own taste" says Chen.

CLOT’s signature red combines with black to ground a bicolor palette, and the CLOT dragon is embroidered on the pieces along with two symbols “冠军” (champion) on the shorts — a nod to sharing best wishes to all the competing teams in the tournament.

The exclusive Nike x CLOT Fall 2019 basketball collection will be available August 28 at special pop-ups hosted at JUICE The Box Xintiandi in Shanghai and JUICE Beijing. The collection will also be available at JUICE Sheung Wan in Hong Kong, JUICE Taipei, JUICE The Box Taipei, JUICE Taichung, JUICE Los Angeles and at select Nike stores and Nike.com.