This week NikeLab dropped the latest ACG collection. And like always, it’s an exercise in designing for all elements, and all environments. “Built to move, designed to adapt,” as the Swoosh says.
The Summer 2017 Collection introduces a range of technical updates to rather basic silhouettes—cargo pants, fleece hoodies and shorts, a tank top and T-shirt, all made of lightweight, water-repellent fabrics with bold branding.
The real highlight, or at least the least conventional design, has to be wild ACG.97.KMTR sneaker. It’s a throwback to the utility-based footwear that the line first introduced two decades ago, defined by a lightweight single-piece gusseted upper secured with a magnetic strap and heel synch system, and rugged outsole. It’s bizarre AF, but that’s the beauty of it.
For a bit of backstory, Nike’s All Conditions Gear as a line was introduced in 1989 as a pioneering attempt in blending innovative technology and bold colorways with outdoors-specific performance activewear. After shuttering the program for a decade or so, the Swoosh re-introduced ACG in 2015 with celebrated designer Erollson Hugh of ACRONYM at the helm. Hugh, who was instrumental in designing Burton’s beautifully minimal AK outerwear line in the early aughts, has honed his urban-inspired aesthetic, and has become a prominent name in the capital F fashion world. And in recent ACG collections, it shows.
