NIKE ACG FEATURE - PART ONE
ANDREA CORRADINI INTERVIEW
Ok, let’s jump back to 1989, ACG’s first proper year. What’s that first range famous for?
We’d done some amazing product prior to 1989 like the Air Escape, but it was the launch of the integrated collection that really catapulted the birth of ACG. Although the Air Pegasus was the first shoe to bear the ACG mark, the Air Wildwood truly felt more versatile than a pure running shoe and you gotta love the bold ACG branding on the midsole! A lesser known design was the Aqua Sock. From an apparel standpoint, the Makalu jacket, Snowpatch Spire jacket and the Cervino Gore-tex parka all became iconic in their own right.
The Vulgarian boots got me through several muddy Glastonbury Festivals without trench foot. Every sneaker guy I know has one model which totally bugs them out on aesthetics alone. What is it about ACG that creates such a radical outlook?
Though I have no idea what a Glastonbury Festival entails, I also have a fond memory of my Vulgarian boots. I was working in the Park City Factory Store and those babies arrived and the entire staff wore them every day for at least a month. I also remember the first time I saw the Escape II, I hit the floor, bugged out! Perhaps because there is no single activity in mind, our designers don’t limit themselves. The Mowabb is the perfect example. So futuristic, yet so literal to the beauty of Moab, Utah at the same time. Pushing boundaries is the rule, not the exception at ACG.
Another interesting aspect to me has always been the apparent contradiction between shoes designed for the outdoors being adopted by urban kids. How do you approach this?
Damn, you’re really making me work hard for this interview, aren’t you! I could approach this in so many ways, but I don’t think it’s a contradiction. I believe the urban kid respects ACG because of its authentic, disruptive positioning, not despite it. Our gear has to excel on the mountain, on the trail, in the water... but it has to look cool when you’re hanging out with your friends in the city. That’s our unique strength.
Check out our next feature: MATCHING YOUR KICKS AND CLOTHES!
