Adidas has poached three top Nike footwear designers as part of its plan to open a Brooklyn Creative Studio in New York City. In a statement issued by Adidas America, the company said the studio, expected to open in 2015, “will drive design direction for the brand and elevate the company’s direct interaction with consumers.”
Pensole Footwear Design Academy kicked off the Pensole World Sneaker Championship (WSC) yesterday and Founder D’Wayne Edwards calls it the school’s most expansive footwear design master class to date. “The goal of the WSC is to show the world how impactful the sneaker industry is, by highlighting the top aspiring sneaker designers from around the world through the premiere sneaker brands in the industry,” he says.
Riddle me this: How does a $3 million shipment of Nike shoes vanish into thin air in 2009 and resurface on a front lawn in Kentucky in 2014 going for $5 a pair? A woman in Radcliff, KY, and her daughter told local media outlets that they had bought them off another woman and had no idea they were stolen. They planned to sell them at a flea market. The Radcliffe Police Department have since confiscated thousands of Nike shoes that were scattered in front of their home.
Once synonymous with the golden age of travel, flight attendant uniforms have changed a lot over the years–but are the skies ready for this? London-based artist Marco Lemcke has dreamed up what a collaboration between Nike and some of the world’s top airline would look like, applying the logos of KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair and Easy Jet and more to a few of the brand’s most iconic silhouettes.
Forget the Delorean and hoverboard–the Back to the Future franchise featured another futuristic design: self-tying laces. In Back to the Future II, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly slips on a pair of Nike high tops that automatically tighten and adjust to his feet. Guess what? Nike is making them. Yes, yes, we know the company released a limited range of McFly’s Nike MAGs (with manual laces) in 2011, but these new shoes not only look like the ones in the movie, they will feature an automatic lacing system.
Let’s face it: When it comes to sneakers, Nike has a fan base that other shoemakers can only drool over. That’s why the company can do ridiculous things like slap a $225 price tag on a celebrity-designed shoe, safe in the knowledge that sneakerheads will flock to it. The Kobe 9 Elite, named after Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, will hit shelves February 8. Made using Nike’s Flyknit technology, the high-tops have nine horizontal “stitches” above the heel–a nod to the sutures from surgery on Bryant’s torn Achilles earlier this year.
Nike takes interactive design to the next level with a completely hands on approach to customization. As part of a one-off art installation at the Familia Skateshop in Minneapolis, the shoemaker created a set of fridge magnets that lets anyone be a sneaker designer. Sadly, Nike has no plans to produce the set of magnets but just because you can’t have your own collection doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the concept virtually.
Hip-hop nuisance Kanye West’s one-man war on the footwear industry continues . The latest victim of his rants: Nike. West, who designed a range of kicks for the athletic powerhouse, had a monumental falling-out with the brand over their marketing of the Air Yeezy. His revenge? A $10 million deal with Adidas.
Talk about random. Nelly has teamed up with Honey Nut Cheerios on a Nike LeBron X “Must Be The Honey” iD. That’s right. The St. Louis-born rapper/investor/entrepreneur/actor is releasing cereal-themed sneakers. They are bright yellow and feature “Must Be The Honey” and Buzz the Bee lace locks. Must be the honey? More like must be the money… Only 250 have been created and so far they have fallen into the hands of Bow Wow and Nick Cannon.
From dapper dandies to skate-inspired swag, the street style at the recent European fashion weeks couldn’t have been more opposite, but, as reported by GQ, one accessory united all: the Nike Flyknit. Whether on fashion directors or the dudes behind the lenses, the lightweight runners were everywhere, and the streamlined silhouette paired perfectly with tailored duds and sportier looks.
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