Wilson Tennis introduced its first line of women specific bags in 2019. The brief was to design a small line of bags for the tennis club consumer. She is a woman in her 40s/50s, affluent, and plays tennis 2-3 times per week. She is looking for a bag she can take from home, to work, to the club, and anywhere in between. The bags needed to hold two rackets, accessories, clothing, and shoes. Being an athlete and an avid gym-goer, I was able to bring my own insights to this project, which was so much fun.

 

FORM

The team explored form along with function. Through ethnographic research, we discovered that more women prefer a backpack to a tote. Two backpack silhouettes were chosen based on volume. The minimal backpack is smaller and sleeker and built for a day out or for women who pack light. The fold-over backpack was built as a weekender or for women who need the storage space. The tote offers the consumer a more professional option, specifically for women going to-and-from the office. Each bag has a separate pocket for stashing away dirty clothes and a shoe bag for keeping the goods clean.  The bags hold two racket, a thermal lined water bottle sleeve or pocket to keep your water bottle cold. Each bag has a fleece lined personal pocket to hold accessories and drop/ zip pockets for even more storage with a padded laptop sleeve in the main compartment.

 

COLOR

I preformed research on color trends through trend recourses, competitive shopping, interviews, and focus groups. Most women don’t want pink. They don’t want purple. I can attest to this. The three chosen colorways were burgundy, deep teal, and black. Black always sells well for women’s accessories. I always lean more neutral with color since they are tran-seasonal and you can rock them all year round. The darker colors also stay cleaner, which was a major pain point we heard from our consumer. The women seemed to love brighter colors, but would only buy the darker colors.

 

 

MATERIAL

Exterior: Matte finished polyurethane leather

Lining: Polyester

Webbing: Polyester

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