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The Fa'atsi Collection: Because the world is better when we all play together

BACKGROUND

Directed by Academy Award Winner Taika Waititi and based on a true story, the film Next Goal Wins follows the American Samoan soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. From the team’s relentless optimism; to their casual acceptance of teammate Jaiyah Saelua, a Fa’afafine (3rd gender long recognized in Samoan culture) and first openly transgender pro footballer admitted into the FIFA global league - the ragtag squad showed us what it means to play together.

In partnership with Searchlight Pictures and to showcase Jaiyah’s inspiring story, Accompany developed a mission-driven, limited-edition capsule collection and integrated content that celebrated the spirit of Fa’atasi— teamwork that transcends culture, gender and geography. The Fa’atasi collection shines an optimistic light on a culturally divisive topic (gender boundaries in sports), and with the help of a local artist, weaves together a beautiful expression of Jaiya’s cultural roots and identity with her trailblazing spirit and skills as an athlete.

THE COLLECTION

Accompany wanted to create a limited edition collection that would authentically and meaningfully translate both Samoan cultural heritage as well as Jaiya’s story, and to do this we sought out the right artistic talent to create a series of original prints for the collection. We chose Yuki Kihara, a celebrated artist living and working in Samoa, Yuki is a member of the Fa’afafine (3rd gender) community. Yuki is the first Pasifika artist and the first Fa’afafine artist to represent New Zealand at the Venice Biennale in 2022, and Yuki’s work can be found in over 30 permanent collections internationally, among others, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, LACMA and British Museum.

The centerpiece of the Fa’atasi Collection, a soccer ball, was created featuring the original patterns reflecting the siapo (handmade barkcloth) tradition, one of the oldest Samoan cultural art forms. Kihara spent years apprenticing under a master artisan, learning the intricate process in order to understand the traditional craft and technique. As contemporary takes on the traditional siapo symbology, the prints interweave Samoan heritage with a vibrant new view of Samoa’s future.

To print and produce the ball, we further promoted cross-cultural support by bringing the designs to Alive & Kicking, a non-profit group based in Kenya whose mission helps to create meaningful employment for over 1,000 craftspeople in sub-Saharan Africa, and fund crucial health and wellbeing programs for underserved youth, all through a love of sport and play.

Each FIFA-regulation soccer ball was stitched and painted by hand, making it both fit for play and artful display.

For the second item in our capsule, and to accent our hero piece, we developed a trio (decidedly not a pair!) of soccer socks to break the sock binary and further play with our cultural conversation. The socks came in three coordinated colors to match the ball, and featured Yuki’s cultural prints, and “Open Play” (a loose translation of Fa’atasi) on the footbed to further reinforce our themes of cross-cultural teamwork and acceptance.

Finally, to underscore our impact on the cause and our iconic character and artist, we integrated a $10,000 donation to the Society of Fa'afafine in American Samoa, aimed at directly benefiting the local community.

THE SUPPORTING CONTENT

With the opportunity from Searchlight Pictures to launch content about the collection with both Jaiya and the film’s Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi, we brought to life the core cultural themes of our concept through additional collateral and video content.

Our capstone piece was the launch short film, narrated by Taika, that introduced Samoan language to our audience, showcased Jaiya’s skills on the field with our artist-designed soccer ball, and interwove scenes from the film to help connect our purpose marketing back to the movie experience and theatrical launch.

For collateral, a sports backpack branded with the film, our key messaging and Yuki’s artwork housed every soccer ball, accompanied with custom postcards that deepened the storytelling around the American Samoan language as related to the themes of the film. Each set of products also included printed postcards bringing to life a timeline of iconic gender boundary breakers from Joan of Arc to Jaiya Saelua, as well as details about the film and our incredible artist collaborator.

The overall concept and the merchandise developed highlight the inspiring meaning that reaches back centuries to indigenous cultures, and yet is more relevant than even in cultural conversations today. Fa’a Samoa - The ‘Samoan Way!