Nike has a track record for tapping some of the buzziest, most exciting designers in fashion to reimagine the iconic swoosh, including Virgil Abloh’s Off-White, Yoon Ahn’s Ambush, Chitose Abe’s Sacai. Now the sportswear giant announced its latest partner: Simon Porte Jacquemus.
Vogue reports that Jacquemus is working on a collection with Nike, set to debut at the brand’s next runway show, slated for June in Paris, before rolling out online and across Nike stores around the globe. There are 15 pieces spanning apparel, footwear and accessories, all of which will be available for purchase on June 28 on jacquemus.com. “Sport was always super important in the Jacquemus DNA, but as Jacquemus grew, the Jacquemus girl changed — she got heels,” the designer told Vogue‘s Steff Yotka. “I always said to myself, ‘If one day I do a collaboration, it will be with Nike.'”
The two first worked together on a Jean-Paul Goude-shot Nike campaign in 2018. Jacquemus officially signed on to design a capsule in early 2020, according to Vogue. Rumors of a potential collaboration, though, have been swirling since the designer’s Spring 2022 show in Hawai’i, when the models posed for the lookbook wearing Nike shoes.
In a statement, Jacquemus said he wanted “to create a collection that reinterprets athletic women’s sportswear in a minimal way. I have always been inspired by vintage ACG pieces and Nike campaigns from the ’90s. Having this imagery in mind, we designed women’s athletic wear with sensuous details and neutral colors, along with my own interpretation of the Humara, my favorite Nike shoe. It was important for the collection to be accessible for all bodies, and to be a natural blend of Jacquemus style and Nike performance.”
“When we collaborate at Nike, it’s always a 50-50 union where each partner comes together to advance the other forward in ways that couldn’t have been done alone,” said Jarrett Reynolds, VP of Catalyst Apparel Design at Nike. “Collaboration at Nike, and with partners like Jacquemus, allows us to expand the culture of sport and redefine it for the next generation.”
This pair-up is part of Nike’s year-long “50 for Her” celebration, commemorating the brand’s 50th anniversary. And Jacquemus indicated that this is only the beginning. “The collection will grow — maybe something more Nike is coming, and then something more in between,” he told Vogue, confirming that the partnership with Nike is going.
The design house has also just named Bastien Daguzan, the former head of Paco Rabanne’s fashion division, as their new CEO, reports Joelle Diderich for WWD. Daguzan will be the first external executive in the role, which was previously held by the designer Jacquemus himself.
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