Nike and Virgil Abloh’s New ‘Icons’ Book Will Explore the Designer’s Creative Process Behind The Ten CollectionÂ
Nike and Virgil Abloh are giving sneakerheads a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of The Ten collection.
The designer and the sportswear giant have teamed up to launch a new book, titled “Icons,” which will explore Abloh’s creative process behind his line of deconstructed Nike icons.
Readers will be able to feast their eyes on never-before-seen sneaker prototypes — which include Swooshes striped away from Air Jordans and reapplied with new materials — original text messages between Abloh and Nike designers as well as looks from the Nike archives.
Through this intimate exploration, fans of Abloh will be able to better understand his approach. Of his own process, the Off-White founder shared: “The foundation of my practice isn’t nearly the end result — it’s rigor and the process of logic.”
“The archive is the paper trail of those artifacts,” he continued in a statement. “The ‘Icons’ book is, in a way, the only revealing lens to understand that the catalog of the 50-plus Nike shoes I have designed are in my mind ‘one shoe.’ One story.”
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“Icons” will see an early release through select Black-owned bookstores before launching via the SNKRS app on Jan. 22 in North America. The book will also be available at Off-White.com and CanaryYellow.com. “Icons” can also be purchased at Taschen.com and other global retailers on Feb. 5.
Additionally, Abloh will speak alongside Shaniqwa Jarvis and book contributors Adamson and Zak Kyes during a special edition of SNKRS Live on Jan. 5.
Abloh launched The Ten collection in 2017, which included reimagined styles from Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse such as: the Nike Blazer, Air Jordan 1, Nike Air Max 90, Nike Air Presto, Nike Air VaporMax, Converse Chuck Taylor, Nike Air Force 1, Nike React Hyperdunk, Nike Air Max 97 and the Nike Zoom Vaporfly.
The sneakers, which are hard to come by, released with price tags ranging from $130 to $250. The collection is currently available on the resale market with Goat.com selling the Chuck Taylor All Star/Off-White x Chuck 70 “The Ten” for $1,295.
