One significant design element of the new Seahawks jerseys is the feather pattern that shows up in many places. The design, inspired by coastal Indian art, shows up as texturing for the numbers and helmet, and as stripes on the pants and neckline.
But those stripes have another meaning, one with roots in a more recent Seahawks tradition. On the pants and on the neckline, the stripes are each composed of 12 feathers, representing the 12th Man.
They are feathers for that exact same reason: that Northwest style, Van Horne told Farnsworth. Its collaborative. (The Seahawks) said, Here are the stories wed like to tell. For the Seahawks, it was the 12th Man and honoring their fans. They love that relationship and they described it. And we just said, Wow, lets do something with this. We can add some subtle coding and nuance to that 12th Man that make the fan feel part of it.