INNOVATIVE PRODUCT NATIONAL
By IFAB MEDIA - NEWS BUREAU - November 19, 2024 | 87 5 minutes read
Nike isn’t just showing up at this year’s ComplexCon — it’s owning the event with a striking display of the brand’s presence at the center of culture and storytelling.
Nike is flexing its strength at the curated festival and exhibition, which brings the world of Complex to life under the lights of Las Vegas. Over the coming days, Nike will provide attendees an exclusive glimpse into future intersections of innovation, sport and sneaker design, along with Nike-only immersive experiences, all with a distinct Vegas flair.
Front and center will be a new expression of Nike Air: a fluid, expressive technology that’s ripe for continuous reinvention. Through the pairing of creatives and innovators with advanced digital tools, Nike has reimagined the Air Max 1 to create the 3D-printed Air Max 1000, a new silhouette manufactured with Zellerfeld that debuts this weekend at ComplexCon.
At the Air Max 1000 Experience, attendees will have the opportunity to win a pair of the exclusive sneakers, available only at ComplexCon. They'll also be able to explore both the future of Air innovation and the origins of the trademark Nike technology, from encapsulated air inventor Frank Rudy’s desk to original Nike Air sole unit prototypes.
"As an innovator, what's most exciting to me about the Air Max 1000 are the new solutions we can achieve with next-level manufacturing," says John Hoke, Chief Innovation Officer. "It's control, times precision, times expression — all of which are vital to sport and to design. When those variables of control, precision and expression are multiplied at once, the future of our product really does feel unlimited."
Joining the Air Max 1000 Experience is the Cactus Colosseum, an immersive look into a world fueled by soccer, sneakers and community, presented by Nike and Travis Scott.
Celebrating the launch of Scott’s new Nike Zoom Field Jaxx, the Cactus Colosseum features a trophy case full of the artist’s most coveted NIKE, Inc. collaborations, a soccer kit customization studio run by Nike’s Blue Ribbon Studios, a retail store with limited-edition merch and a street soccer pitch hosting scrimmages and skills challenges.
Meanwhile, Lil Yachty and the Concrete Boys will be mixing it up with ComplexCon attendees, offering an official first look at the artist’s first sneaker collaboration: the Nike Us Force 1. Lil Yachty’s activation will include a contest challenging sneaker fans to test their strength by breaking open concrete bricks, unlocking exclusive merch and prizes. A few lucky fans will walk away with an unreleased pair of the soon-to-drop Nike Us Force 1.
Nike and Kids Of Immigrants are also teaming up to release a unique Air Max SNDR that features a custom TPU caged upper inspired by global connectivity and communication, a gradient purple colorway that nods to the shades of a sunset, and many other discovery details that reinterpret the SNDR's original design language. The silhouette will be available within the Kids Of Immigrants' Together Gallery: a visual experience that invites the brand's community into the design and artistic process that drove the vision and soul of the project.
Additionally, Nike is collaborating with graffiti artist and designer Stash to tease reimagined Air Force 1 and Air Max 95 silhouettes, both of which will debut later this year.