Fans who are familiar with Curry may know that this cute star who is ridiculed as a "primary school student" actually has an idol known for his toughness and bravery, and that is Bruce Lee.
In March of last year, Curry signed under armour to a new contract and became president of the Curry brand. After the "promotion", Curry seems to have started chasing stars in his own way. For example, recently, the Curry brand x BRUCE LEE Year of the Dragon Bruce Lee co-branded series was released in China, with a number of pairs of special color sneakers and a variety of clothing products carefully designed, so that Curry's respect for idols can be fully displayed.
Although this is not the first time that Curry and Bruce Lee have collaborated across time and space, it is the first time that they have joined forces. With this collection, the Curry brand hopes to pay homage to Bruce Lee's "I fight!" spirit. Behind the tribute, there is actually an attempt by Under Armour and Curry brands to tap the value of Curry's stars and release the charm of Curry's personality through co-branding and brand marketing over the years.
A collaboration full of easter eggs
In fact, on November 27 last year, on the 83rd anniversary of Bruce Lee's birth, the co-branded collection was partially released in North America. The launch event in China is to further launch more co-branded styles at the special time of the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee's death when the Year of the Dragon is approaching in the lunar calendar. The arrangement of the time node is enough to see the importance that the brand attaches to this collaboration.
除了此前已经亮相的Curry 11 Bruce Lee “Fire”火，以及Curry 1 Low FloTro Bruce Lee “Earth”大地，另外三款揭晓面目的联名球鞋包括：
• Curry 11 Bruce Lee “Wind”风
• Curry 11 Bruce Lee “FUTURE DRAGON”龙
• Curry 4 Low FloTro Bruce Lee “Water”水
Each pair of shoes in this collaboration is implied by Under Armour's design team. Bruce Lee's wife, Linda, once said that Bruce Lee had a persevering goal in mind, and even in the most difficult moments, he was always unwavering and brave to move forward. This is exactly the meaning of Curry 1 Low FloTro Bruce Lee "Earth", which is to find your goal, keep your feet on the ground, and then climb up one step at a time. As a result, Under Armour chose the Under Armour Curry 1, the first generation of Under Armour's signature shoe launched for Curry in February 2015. The 2014-2015 season was the first time Curry led the team to the championship and the beginning of the rise of the Warriors dynasty.
Curry personally put the shoes on his feet during the regular season game in which he sank the Clippers.
In addition, 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the movie "Enter the Dragon", and Curry 11 Bruce Lee "FUTURE DRAGON" adopts a color scheme similar to the style of broken glass, paying tribute to Bruce Lee's classic scene in "Enter the Dragon". The Curry 11 Bruce Lee "Fire" fire is a red shoe with a yellow lining, and the upper is printed with dragon scales, which has a full Bruce Lee element in the shape.
It is not difficult to find that this joint series has changed the practice of Bruce Lee co-branding in the past, often using yellow as the main color and printing Bruce Lee's classic image, and the packaging design is based on some of Bruce Lee's artworks, such as his graffiti on movie scripts. The design team retained the original sketch form while even mimicking the texture of the paper. In short, each shoe body and even the abundant hidden easter eggs on the packaging are waiting for fans and sneaker players to decipher.
It is worth mentioning that the Curry 1 Low FloTro and Curry 4 Low FloTro in the co-branded models have switched to UA Flow as the sole cushioning material. It is undoubtedly a great blessing for sneaker lovers who want to try classic shoe shapes but are worried about the "brick" foot feel.
It started with a joint name and ended with a legacy
This collaboration is not the first time that Curry's series of products have been linked with Bruce Lee. The 2021 Atlanta shooting killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. After the incident, Curry put on a pair of custom-made sneakers on the upper of the game against the Atlanta Hawks on April 4 of that year, with a photo of Bruce Lee and his family printed on the upper and the words "Under the heavens, there is but one family." After the game, the shoes raised $51,000 through auction, and the Curry and Bruce Lee Foundation pledged to donate all of them to the victims' families.
In a report on "Andscape", Curry once directly expressed his respect for Bruce Lee. He said that Bruce Lee did what he said he would do, made himself greater than he imagined, and influenced people along the way. With such a statement, Curry hopes to remind people to respect each other and encourage more people to understand the spirit of Bruce Lee.
Curry's own love and tribute to Bruce Lee doesn't stop there. In 2020, the new UA Flow cushioning technology on top of the Curry Flow 8 changed the course of Curry's signature shoe, and the Curry brand was officially launched in the same year. It can be said that these are the two most important events in the cooperation between Curry and Under Armour. And at such a critical juncture, Bruce Lee's "figure" can be seen.
Curry Flow 8勇士队专属配色，以“Flow Like Water”为主题，其灵感便是来自李小龙那句经典的“Be like water”。 同时，在Curry品牌上线的首支广告里，也有库里坐着观看李小龙过往影像，聆听他铿锵有力说到“Now, water can flow, or it can crash”的情节。 至于广告末尾喊出的口号“Change the Game for Good”，也呼应着李小龙创立截拳道，改变搏击运动的事迹，强调Curry品牌将以创新为目标。
Innovation is reflected in product co-branding, two of the most typical examples are the co-branding of Curry Flow 9 with Sesame Street, and the co-branding of Curry 7 and Sour Patch Kids. The former is a traditional children's educational program that has been on the air for more than 50 years since 1969, and the latter is Curry's personal favorite long-established fruit gummy brand. These two collaborations are different from the conventional practice of choosing luxury goods or top-level IP co-branding, and their commonality is that they not only reinforce Curry's intimate image as a "schoolboy" to the outside world, but also focus on the next generation, fully demonstrating the brand's care. While weakening the flavor of co-branded marketing, it can also attract people of different generations.
It can be said that Bruce Lee influenced Curry, and Curry changed Under Armour.
Ten years Under Armour, ten years of superstar road
If you count from the first signing of the two parties in 2013, Curry and Under Armour have spent a full decade together. Mutual achievement is probably a conclusion that is not difficult for the outside world to make about the cooperation between the two sides spanning ten years.
Curry was questioned early in his career, and that skepticism is with him to this day. And almost every time, Under Armour has responded in clever ways to show his support for Curry. For example, in the 2015-2016 season, when the record 73 wins in the regular season did not win the championship, Curry and the Warriors fell into the accusations and ridicule of public opinion. So, under armour created a promotional video for the subsequent release of the Curry 3 signature sneaker. In the video, Curry was covered by a thick mask and couldn't make a sound, and others counted the doubts he had suffered: weak physique, poor confrontation, vague position, 73 wins and lost the championship, etc., and then the style of painting changed, and everyone sent encouraging words to Curry: "Now Make That Old".
"I will," Curry responded. The following season, the Warriors did their revenge in the Finals, and this ad became one of the favorite ads of Curry fans. Many people went to the bottom of the video after the 2016-2017 season to leave a message saying "wish".
Another corresponding brand story comes from the limited edition collaboration between Curry Brand and TUFF CROWD in 2023. TUFF CROWD IS A TRENDY BRAND FOUNDED BY CURRY'S ROOKIE JENNINGS. The friendship between the two has lasted since their rookie season, witnessing their highs and lows, so this collaboration includes the UA Spawn FloTro, a series that Curry wore many times when he first signed with Under Armour and didn't have a personal signature shoe, and at the same time frequently wore it again after winning the championship in the 2021-2022 season.
What's more, this collaboration combines TUFF CROWD's signature black and red edge style to launch a series of shoes and apparel items including Curry 11 and UA Spawn FloTro. The core theme echoes Curry's previous feat of leading the team to win the fourth championship in the 2021-2022 season and winning the FMVP for the first time, boldly asking the outside world: "What they go to say now?"
Interestingly, this Bruce Lee co-branded series uses Bruce Lee's iconic "I fight!" as the promotional theme, following this style of fearless questioning. On closer examination, Curry and Bruce Lee actually have a lot of similarities, both were born in the Year of the Dragon, and both have a close relationship with Oakland.
Commenting on the collaboration, Curry said: "Bruce Lee's greatness stems from his understanding, focus, and dedication to his purpose in life, which is a great example of how we can change the world in our own way. And this is also the meaning of the co-branding, not only marketing, but also showing the spirit of Curry and Bruce Lee, and then conveying it to more people.