The Real Nike Air
Since its founding in 1978, Nike has led the way in developing trainers as state-of-the-art athletic footwear, as well as expressions of personal style and creativity. NIKE78 is a new project created by London College of Communications student Paul Jenkins that celebrates Nike’s legacy of design innovation. Using shoes donated to the school from a Nike concept store, Jenkins sent pairs to 78 designers, artists and other creatives and asked them to challenge the function of the shoes, using sport as inspiration. The ’78′ celebrates the year of Nike’s founding, and the project officially launched on May 30, Nike’s birthday. The resulting designs are being posted to an online gallery.
As one of the participating creatives, Pentagram Berlin’s Justus Oehler invented an unusual evolution for Nike Air shoes. Justus says of his design:
As we human beings can’t fly, we settle for less; we make do with running and jumping. But the dream of flying is still being dreamt, and maybe one day we will literally take off given the right pair of shoes. Well, this is the pair of shoes mankind has been waiting for. The real “Nike Air”.
Oehler knows about flying: he designed the identity for Star Alliance.
An exhibition showcase for NIKE78 is planned for this Autumn’s London Design Festival. Read more about the genesis of NIKE78 on the CR Blog.