It took less than 24 hours for the Chicago Red Stars to sell out of every single size of their new 2019 home jersey, the Elevated kit. Pre-order sales for the next round, due in May, are brisk. The club’s video launching the jersey already has over 100,000 views on Twitter.



Behind the success was eight months of work from the team’s designer, support from the entire front office, over 50 versions of the design, and as Chicago Red Stars owner Arnim Whisler puts it, “the internal passion to get it right.”



Whisler, creative manager Anthony Guagliardo, director of communications and marketing Justyne Freud, and defender Sarah Gorden all spoke to The Athletic about the design, the process, the meaning, and the reaction to the Red Stars’ Elevated kit, the most iconic approach to a uniform in American women’s professional soccer.



The design



Originally from Chicago, Guagliardo had always wanted to work in sports. After...