Nike
Form Follows Motion
Nike, named after the Greek goddess of victory, has become one of the world’s leading sports brands since its incorporation in 1972. At the company’s headquarters, just outside Portland, Oregon, products are developed through a unique blend of scientific study, sports research, and aesthetic sensibility. Hundreds of designers collaborate with specialists in other fields, from material engineering to biology to body mechanics – and, of course, with many of the world’s best athletes.
»Nike: Form Follows Motion« is the first comprehensive museum exhibition about Nike, the world’s most revered sports brand. The exhibition explores the company’s five-decade ascent from a grassroots start-up to a global phenomenon. The focus is on Nike’s design history: from the company’s beginnings in the 1960s and the design of its famous »swoosh« logo, to iconic products such as Air Max and Flyknit, and current research devoted to future materials and sustainability. The creative contributions of individual designers are highlighted throughout, both those inside the company like Diane Katz, Tinker Hatfield, and Eric Avar, and external collaborators like Marc Newson, Comme des Garçons, and Virgil Abloh.
Most of the exhibits are sourced from the Department of Nike Archives (DNA), the company’s own archive, which comprises more than 200,000 items. The exhibition is the first to present a curated selection from this archive to the public. Among the exhibits are rarities and one-offs including experimental prototypes of iconic sneaker models like the Waffle trainer, the Air Force 1, and Nike Shox, as well as original design studies for shoes and apparel.
Space
600 – 1,000 m² / 6,000 – 10,000 sq ft
Curator
Glenn Adamson
Exhibition Design
JA Projects
Graphic Design
Daniel Streat, Visual Fields
Detailed information
Illustrated Concept
Exhibition Film
Exhibition tour
21.09.2024 – 18.05.2025, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
For further information please contact Cora.Harris@design-museum.de.
