GOOD SPORTS: Nike was in good company for its Paris presentation celebrating its female athletes, with in attendance a number of football athletes and the eight track and field stars who walked in the Off-White show on Thursday, including Vashti Cunningham, Cecilia Yeung, Sam Kerr and Yuki Nagasato.
Joining the sports brand at the event on Friday, a nod to the upcoming Women’s World Cup 2019 in Paris next June, were three new collaborators: former Colette creative director Sarah Andelman, men’s wear designer Martine Rose, and Yoon Ahn, cofounder of Ambush and jewelry designer at Dior Men.
On display were some of the shoes from the Off-White show as well Nike DNA archive products, including soccer jerseys and running products.
The holiday 2018 season will see the launch of a men’s wear-inspired, unisex capsule by Rose celebrating the youthful attitude of London’s “street-and-sport” style, and a mainly unisex apparel and footwear capsule by Ahn also available in men’s sizing.
Rose kept shtum about her creations, but Ahn was happy to share some color. “I wanted to base it on real clothes you can actually wear. There are the performance qualities, but it’s not just for at the gym or on the field,” she said. Her favorite items include reversible mid and outer layers, with “two styles in one,” and a lace-free sneaker with a new form.
Andelman, meanwhile, will debut her partnership with Nike through a selection available at Nikeunlaced.com from Oct. 25. The consultant was on hand to present a selection of the items.
“It was very similar to what I used to do at Colette, it was fascinating to listen to how the design studio works,” she said, adding that she made sure to balance a range of basics with something “a bit more crazy” and performance styles.
Athlete Dina Asher-Smith was still buzzing from having walked in the Off-White show the day before.
“It was completely different to what we normally do, it was interesting to see that the models, when they were getting ready to walk, some of them were getting in the zone a little bit like you do on race day,” she said. “It was nice, it was weird, it all happened in a bit of a blur.”