NIKE ACG FEATURE - PART ONE
In 1981, the outdoor specialist shoes known as Lava Dome, Approach and Magma were released into the wild, but it was another eight years before ACG became a category in its own right. Since then I’ve been compulsively drawn to ACG sneakers like a horny mountain goat to a blade of grass. For such a rich source of vitamins, it has always intrigued me how little their design chops are recognised. Far as I can tell, the history of ACG has never been acknowledged or documented. Til now. After pestering Nike all year to create a mini-retrospective to usher in the 20th anniversary in 2009, I was chuffed to be invited to spend a few days in Moab, Utah to get the scoop.
Misspelling aside, you’ve probably twigged the area was the inspiration for one of Nike designer Tinker Hatfield’s most ambitious shoe designs, the futurist classic Air Mowabb. This wild part of the American mid-west is also famed for its radical hiking in the Fiery Furnace park, not to mention more climbing, bouldering and mountain biking options than you can poke an Aqua Sock at. For a city slicker like yours truly, the epic stone cold canyons and cloudless skies of Moab were as utterly bewitching as they were reminiscent of the Wile E. Coyote. Watching the petite French climbing champion Liv Sanzos bouldering from a few yards away with her immense power and skill was jaw dropping. Getting to natter freely with Tinker round a campfire as he told story after story about the early days of Nike was merely the icing on the dirt cake. And to think some people call it work!
For gear that was designed solely for the outdoors, you’d think ACG would look suspiciously antisocial in the urban environment, but that’s never been the case. The consistent hallmark of all Nike shoe design is performance, but they also generally look good in any application and ACG just might be the pinnacle of this dual achievement. Lightweight sneakers for the outdoors that are versatile has been the ethos, but there is no doubting the freedom the designers have had to push the limit.
Check out our next feature: MATCHING YOUR KICKS AND CLOTHES!
