NIKE VINTAGE RUNNING

Hi Richard... so does this project have a name?
No it doesn’t have an official name. It’s too cool for a name. I guess it’s ‘Engineered to the Right Specs’. That’s what it is - the exact same as the original product, the details, the stitch, the finishing, everything about it. (ed's note - this project became known as Nike Vintage.)

Did it originate with Junya or Nike?
I think it’s a culmination of number of different philosophical conversations over a long period we had working with Junya, as to where sport is and what it means. He’s always wanted to comment in an ironic way on the state of the world. And a lot of it came out of talking about where Nike was, and is today, and what the real business of sport is. Not from a footwear perspective but we felt sport in general has been commodified in every aspect. So you could call it an expression of honesty.

Sounds heavy! Some of these models are so old, most people won’t know about them unless they have the Blue Ribbon Sports book.
Most of these are in the Blue Ribbon Sports Book. All of these shoes did go into production at some time. There were a few healthy discussions as to how these models came about, who designed them, why they were done and for what event. But all of them like the Stings, the Daybreak, the Oregon Waffle and the Cortez, they were all defining shoes in their own way and each one has a story to tell around innovation.