Richard Clarke, Nike Sportswear’s Global Creative Director, believes that this blurring of boundaries is a logical development of style-savvy athletes embracing the notion that they shouldn’t have to sacrifice personal expression to participate in sport. Yet he notes that Nike’s life-long focus on performance and innovation is the key to creating new expressions of style. “If Nike hadn’t focused on innovation from the beginning, and continued to do so, we wouldn’t continue to drive a style proposition.”
The Spring/Summer 2010 product fuses innovation and sport heritage to enable Nike Sportswear to create new expressions of sport style.
APPAREL
The Nike Sportswear Icon series will see two newly remixed classics: the N98 Track Jacket and the Grand Slam Polo take center stage. The N98 Track Jacket was introduced in 1998 and was worn by teams like the Brazilian national football team. Its 2010 redesign features enhancements such as a flat knit rib collar and cuffs, bonded seams, and double-welded, zippered pockets. The Grand Slam Polo traces its heritage from the tennis court to the sidelines of sport stadiums around the world. Its new incarnation has been crafted to keep the wearer cool and dry with details like a subtle vented collar, the flat-knit fabric for the interior and even the size of buttons.
For Spring 10, we start from the N98 Track Jacket.
N98 (P3,195)
FROM MEDAL STANDS TO THE STREET Inspired by a match that moved the world, the N98 Track Jacket stands for “National 1998,” notably paying tribute to the 1998 Brazilian National Team. The N98 design takes off from the debut Brazilian team kit by Nike, tapping the classic zip-front track jacket’s deep heritage as a true icon of sport style. The Nike Sportswear team has made it a signature piece for spring, integrating it throughout the line, including creating a premium version for NSW Collection with Gore Windstopper fabric, laser-cut bonded RiRi zippers and reflective film across the back piping.
Highlighted features include:
THE FIT: flexible and easy to wear. Built with double knit fabric, flat knit ribs, and true-fitting shoulders.
THE DETAILS: from flat knit rib collar and cuffs, bonded seams, to double-welded, zippered pockets.
THE FINISH: effortlessly comfortable, with inner seams and pockets built with the same refined finish as the outside.
THE STRIPE: from medal stands to the street, the look of the N98 has been worn by the best in sport for over a decade.
CRAFTED: our commitment to craftsmanship, from materials to construction. We sweated each step so you can push it as far as possible.
FOOTWEAR
TORCH—LIGHTWEIGHT AND BREATHABLE INNOVATION ENABLES NEW SHAPE AND NEW FORM
In preparation for a summer of football, the Nike Sportswear footwear design team joined forces with Nike Football to explore the needs of some of the world’s greatest footballers when they leave the field of play. Focused on solving the needs of the athletes, the result is a technical solution called Torch
TORCH AND AIR MAX BW GEN II (P5,995)
At Nike, innovation is a process of creating new spaces in which to address athletes’ needs and improve their performance. When considering how Nike Sportswear could enhance the post-match experience for athletes, the footwear design team adopted a cut-the-weight, lose-the-bulk mindset gleaned from performance football boot design to arrive at a new technical innovation—Torch. Torch is a lightweight, moisture-managing, supremely comfortable three-layer textile. The outer layer features a visually stunning, protective diamond pattern that holds its shape and won’t crease at stress points like traditional materials. The middle layer offers a lightweight structural element that stands up to a post-match cool-down or an active day around town. The inner layer provides moisture-managing breathability to keep the foot cool and allow for a period of rest after a game.
Torch has also been integrated into several classic Nike silhouettes for Spring/Summer 2010. The Air Max BW Gen II, Air Force 1 and Air Maxim 1 all get the Torch treatment, as well as technical enhancements such as welded uppers and natural motion soles. The Air Max BW Gen II was originally introduced in 1991 and has been a cult favorite of runners and sneakerheads ever since.
What may not be apparent upon first view of the Air Max BW Gen II is the Nike Considered design principle of its construction. Based on the idea of modularity, the Torch Air Max has been developed so that numerous mid-sole models from the Air Max family can easily be integrated into the production line, eliminating waste and inefficiency
