Nike Gyakusou – A Masterclass in Style & Functionality
Looking at fashions' collaborative output in recent years, one will suddenly realize that most of what has been heralded as the next big thing turned out to become just another later-forgotten marketing attempt to conquer social media channels.
Usually, a fundamental lack of purpose is the gist of the matter. The majority of collaborative projects these days don't exist because of truly shared ethics and values or a unique point of view, but mere financial interests. Luckily, enough examples of longstanding partnerships instruct how it's done rightly, like Nike's relationship with one of Ura-Harajuku's founding fathers and designer of the coveted Japanese label Undercover: Jun Takahashi.
It all started in 2009 when Jun Takahashi and Hiroshi Fujiwara worked on a three-way collaboration on Nike's "Match Classic HF". The result was a tennis shoe that couldn't have been any simpler. Instead of coming along with a striking design concept, they merely placed their brand logos [Undercover and fragment design] on the sneaker's midsole and added a kind of train-track print slightly above. This project is probably the most minimalistic and simple of Takahashi's collaborations with Nike.
However, minimalism is a term that has essential meaning in Nike's partnership with the Japanese designer. Before Nike announced the first Nike x Gyakusou performance running collection, Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas have already been quite successful in mixing high-end avant-garde fashion with sportswear. Through Y3, Fraser Cooke, Nike's Global Energy Marketing Director, recognized an alternative way to satisfy the upcoming market trend of designer collaborations. Instead of merely copying the German competitors' strategy of creating avant-garde influenced sportswear for the runway, he conceived a vice versa approach - a uniquely designed performance line emphasizing functionality rather than aesthetics.
Jun Takahashi initially introduced the blueprint of Gyakusou in his Undercover FW10 collection "Avakareta Life," integrating his running clubs' moniker "GIRA" on jackets, backpacks, gloves, and puffers across the line. The designer recalled: "The collection, in particular, I gave it the theme 'Everyday Life.' Running is something indispensable to my everyday life, so I added them to the collection." Because of Takahashi's proclivity to running, as well as his distinctive stylistic vision, he was the unquestionably fitting choice for credibly directing and designing Cooke's conception.
Since 2010, Nike's pioneering innovations in running technologies blend Takahashi's state-of-the-art design approach towards functionality, creating a biannual project of cutting-edge design where form follows function. Unlike his work at Undercover, which mainly deals with concepts of dreams and fantasies, Gyakusou is about real needs and purposes. More specifically, it's about the running experiences of Takahashi himself and the Gyakusou International Running Association [GIRA], a small collective of befriended Tokyo-based runners [including Takahashi].
Gyakusou means “running in reverse”, alluding to the group's clockwise running in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, where it's actually the norm to move in the opposite direction. Ultimately, it's a reflection of the designer's infamous rebellious attitude to life rooted in his fascination for punk culture.
As briefly aforementioned, collaborations tend to work well if there's a spark of reciprocity between two parties. However, that doesn't imply an apparent resemblance that would be eradicating the chances of creating a novel narrative by putting a unique spotlight on the theme at hand. High-flying collaborations push boundaries by extending the public's perception of what's conceivable, leading to a blend of differing points of view.
In an interview with Sabukaru, Cooke recalled the foundation of Gyakusou by pointing out Nike's recipe for successful creative partnerships: "The basic intention is to get together with people and try to do something interesting that you wouldn't be able to do without each other. [...] We see that someone has an interest in something. For example, Jun Takahashi with running. That just made sense! We started to do Gyakusou, and that's been going on for ten years."
Running is an essential component of Jun Takahashi's routine, as he told Port Magazine in 2013: "Marathons are becoming part of my lifestyle, and running is keeping me in certain rhythms. If I don't run, then my body feels still, and my mind isn't clear. I run every other day, usually, 10K-15K, which is about five laps around Yoyogi park in Tokyo, where I live." Although Takahashi participates in competitions [he tries to run the Honolulu Marathon every year], Gyakusou is preferably about inner peace and mental health. "It's kind of like meditation to me – but with adrenaline. Running allows me to balance these two opposites, almost like a form of zen," Takahashi explained in an Interview with Nike in 2010.
In the age of boundless information, causing a feeling of disconnection to many, society is seeking ways to reengage with the present moment. Practices such as mindfulness receive more and more recognition as the importance of mental health becomes as relevant as having a strong body. Therefore, Takahashi's non-competitive mindset on the activity of running mirrors modern culture's desires for peace of mind and, beyond that, offers Nike an extra facet for marketing athletic garb.
Looking at the evolution of Gyakusou's collections, one can recognize that designs have become more straightforward and more unadorned over the last ten years due to Jun Takahashi's progression in running. Ushi-san, a product developer at Nike Japan and Takahashi's leading assistant for the Gyakusou project, told Inventory Magazine in 2013: "Jun is getting more and more serious about running, and his needs have become more specific and professional."
Consequently, Takahashi's approach to design at Nike primarily focuses on avoiding distraction, following picking the most innovative fabrics for each season. Essentials like keys and mobile phones should not disturb during workouts; hence staple pieces like shirts, pants, shorts, and jackets provide concealed, carefully developed pockets. Aside from that, removable sleeves are an often used adjustment on jackets. Yet, the clearance of distraction does not only play a vital part in the piece's compositions but also in the utilized color palette for Gyakusou.
Typically, running gear is designed in a spectrum of neons and bold patterns to ensure safety at night, leading designers to fail thinking out-of-the-box as the collections don't aim to tell a particular narrative. In contrast, Jun Takahashi's personal view on running allowed him to define a concept outside the mundane neons. Gyakusou's ingenuity lies in its well-directed use of color, providing the necessary safety without making runners appear like canaries.
By applying a mix of muted earthy shades merged with traditional Japanese colors, Jun Takahashi brilliantly achieves making runners become one with their individual environment - whether running through neighborhoods, parks, or forests. Eventually, his stylistic approach does not only make the runner feel undisturbed but its surroundings as well. Hence, the project allows runners to fully embrace the present moment by delivering a sense of connection and harmony.
Nike x Gyakusou is an unparalleled example of how to successfully merge two perspectives in a time when the term collaboration has become almost absurd. The line's remarkable philosophy, conveyed through cutting-edge garment construction paired with a sophisticated choice of colors, delivers an authentic viewpoint on running: one that evenly resonates with the personalities of both parties. Way before the gorpcore craze was trending, Jun Takahashi and Fraser Cooke established a mindful perspective on the act of exercising, allowing people to approach running differently.
Yet, Gyakusou still addresses a heterogenous clientele outside of the mainstream. Whether one mainly resonates with the philosophy, the aesthetic, or the well-thought-out design implications, the avant-garde performance line offers many reasons to be adored by athletes and design enthusiasts alike. However, these reasons are in solid alignment with each other, embracing Takahashi's idea to the maximum extent. Consequently, there's no disturbance or distraction keeping Nike x Gyakusou from being an incredibly authentic project, effortlessly depicting how a collaboration should be executed.
About the Author:
What started from playing basketball and lining up in front of sneaker stores developed into a deep interest in wide-ranging tales about sports, subcultures, fashion, art, and film. Henry Vieler loves to uncover the meaning of cultures’ creative outputs, to grasp the bigger picture of where humankind is and where it’s heading for.
