Susan Sokolowski brings game-changing innovation to sports product design
A veteran innovator in sports apparel design, Sokolowski is being recognized as part of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year program.
- Susan Sokolowski, a veteran innovator in sports apparel design, is being recognized as part of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year program.
- Sokolowski has dedicated her career to creating better-fitting athletic wear for women, a demographic she believes has been historically underserved by the sports industry.
- Sokolowski credits her success to a willingness to ask for opportunities, even when met with the possibility of rejection.
Susan Sokolowski remembers the ill-fitting uniforms when she played youth and high school soccer as a Title IX athlete in New York state.
Living in the glow of the fashion industry, it puzzled her why no one was creating clothing specifically for female athletes.
The void motivated her to want to work in the sports industry and seek more inclusive design.
“When you’re young, sometimes you have crazy ideas,” Sokolowski said. “My crazy idea came to fruition, and I’m still living that.”
Sokolowski, who has more than 30 years’ experience in performance sporting goods for women and diverse and underserved populations, is being highlighted as part of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year program.
She has been recognized internationally for her achievements in design innovation. She is listed as an inventor on more than 100 domestic and foreign patents, many of them belonging to Nike, the company she worked for from 1998 to 2016. The inventions range from footwear components to moisture management garments and sports bra cups.
Her first job with Nike was as an equipment designer for the U.S. women’s soccer program, which at the time included Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain. Sokolowski later became an innovation designer for Nike’s new women’s footwear division and eventually the innovation director for global apparel, which included Olympic uniforms.
Sokolowski left in 2016 to become the founding director and professor of Sports Product Design at the University of Oregon, where she continues to mentor and inspire the next generation in product design and development. She continued to consult for NIke.
The UO master of science program admits up to 20 students each fall with undergraduate degrees in engineering, design, biomechanics, kinesiology, and physiology. The program includes students from as far away as Canada, China, India and South Korea.
“It’s really amazing how small a program we are, and how short of time we’ve been in existence, and the reach we’ve had from around the world,” Sokolowski said. “What’s really cool is now we’re seeing our students out in the industry and they’re not only working here in Oregon, but they’re working internationally.”
Much of her career has focused on how materials and fit make a difference in sports apparel, footwear, and equipment. In addition to the Sports Product Design program, she has taken her reputation as a game-changing innovator to Lululemon, where she is Vice President of Footwear Innovation.
“Even when I moved into the sports industry in the late 1990s, women were still not being served,” Sokolowski said. “A lot of products were being designed for men and just recolored, what we would call ‘shrinking and pinking it’ in the industry. It really wasn’t until the early 2000s that products for female athletes were a focus.
“Even today, I would say there’s still a lot of work to do in this space.”
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Who paved the way for you?
The teachers and the professors that I had really were open to me being me and doing what I wanted to do in this space. When I had this idea as a very young child to work in the sports industry, I just thought that was something that people did already, and then I learned quite quickly that it was a brand-new idea. All those folks that listened to me, that heard me, and said, ‘Yes, you can do this,” those folks paved the way for me.
Is there a guiding principle or mantra you tell yourself?
I live by this idea that you should always ask for things. The worst that someone can say is no. When I was in school, I always asked to do things: Can I work in sports? Can I design products for women? Can I do this body of research? I always tell my students it’s scary to ask, but once you ask that question, it’s going to go one of two ways. What if they say yes? That’s really awesome.
How do you overcome adversity?
The work I do can be quite challenging. We’re always looking for the reason why we’re doing something and why it benefits an athlete or a user. Working around that is really about doing great research, documenting your work, asking the right questions, and working with people who are going to be the users of your product to get feedback and to understand from them through their voice if things work or don’t work.
What is your best meeting strategy or tip?
I do have a lot of meetings in my work. For me, it’s always about having an agenda, being focused, and asking yourself, “Do you really need the meeting?” Because I think our culture is really meeting-heavy. And having fun. Currently, in my meetings, I have a question of the week. It could be very open like, “What is your favorite holiday movie?” or “What is your favorite candy?” It can be very simple, but it really unites people in a common place of curiosity and sharing.
What’s a book that you’ve loved for work/business?
I’m a big fan of the “Clifton Strengths Finder.” I have my students do that, that’s their first assignment in my class when they join the program. I discovered this book when I was in my career in my early 30s, and it really was revolutionary to how I thought about myself as a creative. For example, one of my top strengths is strategic. You would not think of a designer as being strategic, but when I think about my work, I’m always strategizing, how can I take this information, combine it with this, build an idea and a story, and sell it?
Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com, and follow her work on X @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ