Nike and Virgil Abloh announced The Ten on August 21, 2017: ten footwear icons, from the Air Jordan I to the Converse Chuck Taylor, reconstructed in two sets, Revealing and Ghosting. Nike Off Campus events ran in New York and East London that September, the first five shoes went on sale at NikeLab stores in four cities, and the full ten followed in November. We made it internally, Nike Brand Design EMEA with Nike Sportswear, and Nike Brand Design briefed and creative directed the outside agencies.
Why it looks like this
A shoe you could make. Abloh told Nike he wanted the process to feel within reach: “by making a trip to your local store, and using tools you have at home, you could also make this shoe.” Nike described the Revealing set as hand-cut, open-source, and reconstructed.
Ghosting. Nike said the Ghosting set used translucent uppers unified by a common material, across the Converse Chuck Taylor, Zoom Fly SP, Air Force 1 Low, React Hyperdunk 2017, and Air Max 97.
In one gesture, I wanted to underscore how the design system and manufacturing of Nike are so perfect
Virgil Abloh, designer, source
