Journalist Phoebe Lovatt moderated a panel discussion on Nike's 10-shoe collaboration with Off-White Wednesday. The discussion, part of Virgil Abloh and Nike's Off Campus pop-up, touched on a variety of topics including "the Jordan effect" and the continued influence of Nike's most iconic pieces.
"Those teenage years are sort of the foundation for the adult version of yourself," Abloh said at the top of the panel when asked about his inspiration for the new collaboration. Abloh, who will be at this year's ComplexCon, added that he had "no particular plan" as a teenager, other than looking to major cities. "I was, you know, an hour outside of Chicago, so Michael Jordan was my superman," he said.
Nike's Andy Caine later joined the discussion, sharing his side of how the collaboration came together. "I think, if you're a creative company, you want to bring diverse creatives together," he said. Nike's approach to collaboration is "very similar" to Abloh's process, Caine added. "What happens usually is when you have something very innovative, you have a distinction that's very different to other products," Caine said. These shoes, such as the Chuck Taylor All-Star, then become "cultural icons" that are rife with possibilities for translation into different artistic interpolations.
Abloh noted, however, that this highly anticipated Nike collaboration could have been a "career suicide" of sorts due to the emotional attachment many have to Nike products. Abloh also praised Nike for being completely open to his ideas, even when he walked into the office with an X-ACTO knife and wanted to chop up some shoes.
"I work basically like 24/7," Abloh said of his workload. "My whole idea is, again, to give everyone the tools, tell the things that normally people wouldn't tell you." The first rule? "Never sleep … When someone's sleeping, someone's working."
As for how Nike keeps at the forefront, Caine said their method is fairly simple. "We work kind of in the future anyway," he said. "We kind of have to have a prediction of the future before it happens." For Caine, that prediction comes from a timeless approach to design. "A lot of the icons, actually, if you look back, there are several that are quite old, but still feel right for us today," he said. "Being distinct is actually difficult in modern culture, but from the Nike side, we leverage the power of innovation through sports."
Watch "The Ten: A Crash Course" above.
Want to experience Complex IRL? Check out or second annual ComplexCon, a festival and exhibition taking place in Long Beach, California Nov. 4-5. Host committee members include Murakami, Pharrell, Virgil Abloh, and Sarah Andelman, among others. For more information on performers, panels, and tickets, visit here.
