This collaboration is a result of a 2009 conversation that I had with Mark Parker in Paris. We spoke for hours on the merits of individual handicraft versus the economy of scale in factory production. The design triangle: quality, speed, cost – choose two – is broken open by the innovative global production techniques and ethics developed and continually refined by NIKE.
The “die broke racing philosophy” (starting with 100% and ending with 0% to save weight and increase speed), is a useful strategy, but can also conflict with sustainability , and compromise long-term strength. Before recycling, there is reuse. Before reuse, there is durability.
John Ruskin’s Seven Lamps of Architecture, from May 1849:
1. Sacrifice
2. Truth
3. Power
4. Beauty
5. Life
6. Memory
7. Obedience
153 years later, these ideas are the guiding principles of this collaborative capsule collection. Here we shun innovation for its own sake, but embrace the use of innovation only as a necessity. Fashion is power and truth and beauty and life and obedience, and it’s achieved at great sacrifice – just like athletics.
Parker said to me, “If you think you can do better, why don’t you try?” I said “Okay,” and three years later, after we both learned a lot, this is the result of that challenge.
Behold: NIKECraft.
Tom Sachs
April 11, 2012
Tag Archives: nasa
The Day We Stopped Dreaming
In the past few years, Neil Degrasse-Tyson has emerged as the face of the scientific community. In this clip, he explains the effect NASA’s disbanding has had on American innovation and the inspiration it provided to generations of young people.
Tom Sachs’ Color
A friend recently told me that, “In order to be a designer, you must learn to see the world differently.”
It’s easy to look at an object and think that it doesn’t look right or could look better, but taking it to the next step and thinking in detail how it could be improved is entirely different.
Tom Sachs sees the world differently. He recently released a video called “Color”. It explains his studio’s opinions on each color. I had never thought about color the way he explains it and I’ll never think about olive green or Mcdonald’s Yellow ever again.
A good designer analyzes everything about objects and understands that colors can tell a story in ways that no words can.