Nike : Virgil Abloh and Nike Announce New Design Project “The10”

Abloh's quick pace was an ideal match for a rapid Nike Direct timeline, resulting in one of the fastest collaborations Nike has ever completed: 10 shoes in about 10 months from ideation to release. The project officially began with the task of re-imagining five Nike footwear icons - the Air Jordan I, Air Max 90, Air Presto, Nike Air VaporMax and Blazer Mid - within a breakneck schedule. 'Most of the creative decisions were made in the first three hours, while actual design and iteration took two to three days,' recalls Abloh. 'The Jordan I was done in one design session. I work in a very like dream-like state. I see it, and it's done.'

Like with the initial Air Force 1 exercise, the X-ACTO knife was central to this design process. Abloh used it to reveal the foam within each shoes' respective tongues (and move their Nike labels), move the Swoosh placements (and, at times, enlarge them) and add pops of color through orange tabs (in various locations per shoe).

The 'REVEALING' aspect of this series was also satisfied through tongue-in-cheek text placements, such as 'AIR' on the lateral side of the Nike Air VaporMax, Air Jordan I and Air Presto (referring to Nike Air technology) and 'SHOELACES' on the shoe strings.

Though the designs look complex, Abloh says he truly wants this process - opening up the figurative guts of a shoe to reveal the innovation within - to feel approachable. 'Yes, we're making a desired product, but by making a trip to your local store, and using tools you have at home, you could also make this shoe,' says Abloh.

This approach articulates a Just Do It mentality - one rooted in working hard to realize one's own potential. 'I spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about the kid in the middle of nowhere who has a passion for design, much like I did,' Abloh says. 'He or she needs a path like this to understand design.'