A closer look at the new Nike x Parra collection

We wanted to take a closer look at the great new upcoming collection between Dutch multidisciplinary artist Parra and Nike. Parra who is responsible for some of the most iconic Air Max 1 colorways in history. Like for example the 2005’s Brownstone/Blue Reef-Dark Oak version.

It's been almost a decade since the last drop so the anticipation for this coming collection has been high, and the pressure understandably so as well.

“How could I do something that has not already been done? Which is always an important question when one has created something iconic, how to create something new, and not repeat oneself and at the same time not lose the fans of the old. Who is the audience today? What risks can be taken? Where should the work be a little conservative? How do you balance the interests of multigenerational enthusiasts?" Parra

All these questions come into play and they’re not always that easy to answer.

“There are two people who sit on your shoulder and watch what you're doing all the time. One says, ‘The collector is going to like this,’” he explains. “And then the opposite, which queries: ‘How does somebody who is 17 or 18 years old — with no idea about what I did before — how are they going to look at this?”

Since dropping his last versions of the Air Max 1, which was one of the rarest Air Max’s ever, Parra’s work has shifted from the typographical humor he was known for, towards an experiment with abstract compositions. He's transitioned from working as an illustrator/designer to focusing more on painting and gallery exhibition in recent years.

His first Air Max’s were what were known as City Packs, taking a very direct inspiration from cityscapes on the visual aesthetic of the shoes, an inspiration that has been revived in this new collection with the flat representation of city and countryside that forms a pattern that was applied to both the Air Max 1 and the Zoom Spiridon.

“I made a drawing first and then thought, ‘How can I get a shoe to be involved in this piece?’" he says. “Back in the day, I was thinking color blocking. I didn't think about that this time. I just wanted to make cool work and then see how the shoe can relate to it.”

What else is new? Most evidently, Parra’s new version of the Air Max 1 withholds the shoe’s lateral Swoosh.

“I remember back in the day, you would take a little knife and remove the side graphic, it freed up that panel to incorporate the cloud that's in it now. But I was also very — and still am —very afraid what people will think of it. It does change the shoe visually.”

On the new Air Max 1 and Zoom Spiridon, Parra’s pattern is expanded across the silhouettes, both carrying a blue Swoosh. The fun twist is that the two shoes reveal the signature placement’s origin.

“The Spiridon has that little Swoosh on the front. The first time saw that I thought, ‘That's perfect. You put your little logo there’"

In addition the sneakers, the collection consists of a tracksuit, which also carries Parra’s new pattern, and celebrates the role of each piece in Dutch street culture.