After announcing that stores would be closed until March 27 (at the very least) to help slow the spread of coronavirus, Nike announced it would donate over $15 million dollars to relief efforts during the pandemic. Most of those funds will be donated to local organizations — the athletic company is based in Oregon — including the Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Community Recovery Fund, and Oregon Health & Science University, in addition to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund which provides assistance to international countries also battling the repercussions of the ongoing outbreak.
During these uncertain circumstances, Nike joins the ranks of other companies using their vast capital for good. Armani has donated @$1.4 million to hospitals in Rome and Milan, as Italy currently has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases outside of Wuhan, China, where the outbreak started. And LVMH recently announced that all of its factories would start producing hand-sanitizer to donate to hospitals in France.
Late last week, Supreme announced it would temporarily close its stores to help prevent further spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). The New York-based skate brand is the latest retailer to temporarily shutter while the world grapples with a new day-to-day reality in the middle of the coronavirus.
Apple also announced the closure of all its international stores — except for China, where it just reopened all 42 of its stores after the country successfully contained the outbreak! — and Nike has followed suit. Urban Outfitters, Kith, and 3.1 Phillip Lim also announced closures of their stores in major cities. And ahead of its permanent closure, Opening Ceremony has temporarily shut its doors as well. Across the country, lockdowns are being implemented with bars, restaurants, movie theaters, and other public institutions being forced to shut down, so more retailers will soon follow suit.
The first big sneaker collab of the year is dropping this week. On March 5, Supreme and Nike are releasing the highly anticipated Air Force 1s. The two major brands have a pretty extensive history working together, on average dropping something at least once a year since they first joined forces in 2002. Despite this relationship, the latest collab is a simple one that combines each label’s most popular trope — the familiar Nike shoe model and the cultish Supreme box logo — in one sneaker.
The new Air Force 1 retains many of the shoe’s classic attributes. The sneaker, which is available in black or white, is made with premium leather and features the signature swoosh on the side. The red Supreme logo is printed towards the back of the shoe, undoubtedly elevating the otherwise ubiquitous footwear to coveted status. That won’t be the case, though — at only $96, the sneaker is one of the skatewear brand’s more affordable offerings and will be restocked throughout the year.
The Supreme x Nike Air Force 1 will be available in select stores and online on March 5.
For their latest collaboration, Supreme and Nike have updated the latter’s classic style, the Air Max 95, in an elevated new material. Available in three colors (blue, black, and red), the signature sneaker has been redone in luxe and glossy Italian leather. The shoe even comes with a boot-shaped silver hang tang to emphasize the Italian-ness of it all. Nike previously released a similar leather style in the early ’00s, but the new style enhances the shoe with Supreme’s own stamp — the skate brand’s logo is cropped and etched on the side and shown in full on the tongue of the shoe. And at $500, the simple and overt branding combined with the fine material construction makes this collaboration the most expensive one since the brand’s first teamed up in 2002.
The Supreme x Nike Air Max 95 will be released in select stores and online on November 7.
Earlier this year, department store and cultural institution Barneys New York filed for bankruptcy. It was a powerful reflection of the current state of the retail industry, which has long been trying to figure out how to compete with the rise of digital shopping. But all might not be lost for Barneys, as the Wall Street Journal reports that a group of fashion executives, led by Sam Ben-Avraham who co-founded Kith in 2010, is preparing to offer $220 million to buy the department store.
This makes sense for a lot of reasons. As the luxury and streetwear industry markets continue to bleed into each other, no one knows how to address this progression more than Avraham — in the ’90s, he opened Atrium, a boutique that carried both independent streetwear brands and designer labels including Balmain. It’s almost like he knew this was coming all along. Plus, Barneys has long been on this wave. In 2017, the store hosted its own two-day streetwear festival, thedrop@barneys, which included panels with industry juggernauts like Virgil Abloh and Heron Preston as well as limited collections from established and emerging brands.
Also, in terms of physical retail, it’s arguably the streetwear crowd that’s really driving this industry forward. Marketing reports for years have said that the in-store experience has to be just that, an experience, to attract shoppers, but stores have still struggled to apply that in a practical way. Whether it’s with an in-store basketball court (like the Nike Store has in SoHo) or a human-size hamster wheel so that customers can test out running shoes (like the Allbirds store has in SoHo), all these fancy amenities still aren’t driving sales as much as you’d think. Yet with every Supreme drop and Kith capsule, there’s always a line of at least 50 people waiting outside the store to open, ready to spend. And isn’t that what retail is all about?
The deadline for bids is October 11, but a spokesperson for Barneys said they “intend to reach an agreement by next Friday.” So the dawn of Kith x Barneys may be right around the corner.
Los Angeles-based brand John Elliott collaborated with Lebron James on a Nike Icon Collection that includes a basketball shoe and a range of athletic-inspired apparel. The collection is characterized by earthy tones and subtle prints, including a military option, which are more evocative of the outdoors than the gym.
The Icon QS sneaker is obviously the star of the collection, giving the basketball shoe a more casual tone. The apparel includes a hoodie, long-sleeve T-shirt, pants, and other staple pieces. The earthy and neutral theme of the collection was inspired by Elliott’s childhood home — a coastal ranch in Northern California. The hues thus come from this place where the sea meets open land, sand, and the sky.
The John Elliott x Lebron James x NIKE range is available online at JohnElliott.com.
Virgil Abloh’s latest for Off-White Spring/Summer 2020 was designed in collaboration with New York graffiti artist Futura. Back in the ’80s, Futura showed alongside other seminal city artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat with his distinct abstract street art style which has been incorporated into the collection. Airbrush-like techniques printed on white suits and other tailored pieces gave them a very ’80s vibe — remember that super colorful Information Society video? Additionally, a mesh-fence theme printed throughout the collection established an urban vibe while tie-dyed cargo pants were a new spin on utility wear. The collection also debuted new Futura x Nike styles as part of the ongoing collaboration between the brands.
Streetwear label Alyx — founded by designer Matthew Williams, whose resume boasts work with Alexander McQueen and Kanye West — has constructed a pop-up shop in Toronto. The new temporary space spans 1,695 square feet and carries the brand’s latest line, as well as exclusive products and will stock items from collaborations with Nike and Dior (Williams worked with Kim Jones on a line of saddlebags). The intimate space echos the brand’s signature industrial style, with bare walls and metallic accents decorating the interior.
1017 ALYX 9SM will be open at 26 Bellair Street until June. Check out some pictures of the shop below.
Eschewing traditional takes, the latest collection from Sacai and Nike focuses on revamping what makes a sneaker, from tongue to sole. Footwear from the line may cause double vision: both the low-tops and mid-tops feature layers of tongues, overlapping swooshes, and color compositions that make them easy to match with anything. Other pieces from the collection embrace ‘90s-style nostalgia, experimenting with different combinations of denim and flannel—a perfect fusion of bold and traditional.
Nike and Fear of God have released a limited-edition basketball sneaker on UNKWN. The Nike Air Fear of God 1 is a new style in a muted-grey colorway (dubbed ‘Light Bone’ after the shoe’s unique bonelike structure) that boasts a double-stacked Nike Air heel for optimum performance, while the leather exterior ensures an effortless and sophisticated look. Due to the high demand of the shoe, UNKNWN organized a raffle so customers could try their hand at winning the coveted sneaker — winners will be announced later today.
Dinner with Karl Lagerfeld is served with a 24-piece silver-plated flatware set each marked with a branded silhouette logo. The set is available in both stainless steel (1000 pieces) and classic black option (500 pieces), each numbered for organizational convenience, and packaged in an Art Deco-inspired Fabergé egg designed in partnership with French homeware designer Christofle.
This metal table features a round tray printed with the word “Urtica Ferox.” Used for its original purpose as a table, or hung on a ring, this table is a coveted piece for sure.
Price available upon request, available at select Gucci stores and online on Gucci.com.
Rassvet Skateboard Decks
Mount these on your walls for an alternative art piece.
Give your Italian stove top an upgrade with this art deco, copper finish espresso-maker. Elegant and actually useful, your coffee ritual will never feel the same again.
Another Supreme x Nike Capsule collab is about to hit stores worldwide. The latest fall collection from the two labels features a long list of workwear-inspired pieces including reversible vests, a quilted work jacket, cotton twill overalls, flannel hoodie sets, crewnecks, and sweatpants (get cozy for fall). But by far the show stopper of the collection are the 14k gold Nike logo stud earrings. Although the capsule doesn’t feature footwear, we can definitely expect this release to have people lined out the door just in time for cuffing season.
The Supreme x Nike capsule collection drops this Thursday, 9/27, at select Supreme stores and online.
