Under Armour, Inc.

Daniel Lee

Alan Toronjo

Roger Fan

Thomas White

An article of apparel includes a composite material. The composite material includes a pliable first layer and a resilient second layer, where the first and second layers are secured to each other via a patterned strand network. In forming the composite material, the second layer is stretched and maintained under tension while the first layer is secured to the second layer via the patterned strand network. The tension on the second layer is then released, resulting in contraction of the second layer in relation to the first layer and an outward buckling or protrusion of the first layer in relation to the second layer to form protruding cells along the composite material that are bounded by portions of the patterned strand network. The patterned strand network can be formed using embroidery with one or more auxetic patterns in the stitching.

Article of apparel

An article of footwear includes at least one panel comprised of a composite material. The composite material includes a plurality of layers that are secured together according to a predetermined embroidery stitching pattern. The panel includes a first layer having a maximum elongation in a length direction of the article of footwear, and a second layer having a maximum elongation in a width direction of the article of footwear. The composite material also includes additional layers coupled to the first layer and the second layer.

Article of footwear with composite upper

An article of footwear includes an upper formed of a base layer, a reinforcement layer, and an auxetic structure coupled to the reinforcement layer. The base layer includes an elastic material and is elastically deformable between a resting configuration and a stretched configuration. The base layer is configured to be stretched to a predetermined amount. The inelastic reinforcement layer is coupled to the base layer. The reinforcement layer is configured to delimit the stretch amount of the base layer when the base layer is in the stretched configuration.

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Daniel Lee