“Who’s Mike?” That was the question on everyone’s lips at the 1972 track & field trials where the first Nike T-shirt was distributed.

Almost everyone present - athletes, fans and even the officials - were wearing it even though logos and labels were forbidden (thereby probably laying the first foundations of Nike’s rule-breaking reputation). It would have been a marketing coup if it wasn’t for the fact that the italicized, lower case logo looked more like ‘mike’ than ‘nike’.

In the 26 years since, our T-shirt has been significantly re-mastered. The Nike Sportswear T-Shirt Premium 08 is slim, supple, organic - no stiff screen-printing and, of course, sporting AN ALL CAPS, BOLD LOGO. We will never be called Mike again.

See more at www.nikesportswear.com

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Picture this: 1985 on the basketball courts of the US of A and ALL the shoes are white. Then came the Dunk.

Seven college basketball teams broke with tradition, sporting Nike Dunks that matched their brightly coloured uniforms - a vivid expression of what it meant to ‘Be True’ to your school. This sentiment soon found fans and followers who evolved the philosophy into something more than loyalty to a home team and school colours: it became a symbol of individual expression and allegiance to a school of thought.

The latest Nike Dunks have all been remastered with moulded collar padding, sharper leather edges and hinged tongue. The Nike Dunk Supreme 08 also sports Phylon midsole material (borrowed from our top running shoes), responsive Nike Zoom cushioning (from our skate-proven SB Dunks) and rolled edges. And true to its origins, it is once again set to revolutionise colour on the courts, by being the first shoe with a 5-color laser treatment. But no amount of change in colour, contour or technology will ever replace its most distinctive characteristic: the spirit of ‘Be True’.

More at www.nikesportswear.com

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Now showing: an interview with Tinker Hatfield, designer of the first Nike Air, and a cool visual representation of the evolution of Nike Air.

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Tinker Hatfield is an architect, VP of Innovation Design and Special Projects at Nike – and a living legend in the land of sneakers. Sticking to a believe that form follows function, Hatfield designed the first Air Max in 1987, endeavoring to give runners the best cushioning possible by enlarging the air bag in the midsole.

Here his architecture background also came into play: inspired by the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris with its large glass walls that allow the inside of the building to be visible, he removed part of the midsole, thereby creating the Air Max’s distinctive visible Air Unit. Runners could see the technology propelling them forward.

The Air Max 90 followed four years later, literally taking the first version to the max, incorporating more Nike Air cushioning, tuned for racing and clad with a multi-flexing outsole. Twenty seven years later there is still no slacking in the pace of innovation, resulting in future classics such as the Air Max 90 Supreme 08 and the Air Max 90 Current.

In the words of Global Design Director Jesse Leyva: “We call what we do for Nike Sportswear ‘elastic design’, meaning that we take iconic shoes and stretch the concept of what they were originally made for into different areas with updated technologies.”

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Nike Sportswear was not conceived in a boardroom or born as a brilliant business concept. It originated on the tracks and fields of Eugene, Oregon (a.k.a. Tracktown, USA) as the by-product of the pursuit of faultless function. But where form and function meet, style seems to follow.

During 35 years of sporting innovation, NSW has obsessed about the needs of the athlete, constantly working towards enhanced performance. This dedication has produced sleek, strong and striking clothing. Clothing that simply works better - not only for athletes, but for just about any body owner.

The NSW philosophy of designing for sport, then re-mastering for life has resulted in a range of products that have become icons; symbols of what happens when ingenuity meets inspiration.

Get the global picture at www.nikesportswear.com

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