Sacai

NIKE X SACAI, THE HISTORY OF COLLABORATIONS

Japan and streetwear?

THE streetwear draws its origins from the street and its inspiration from its residents and their influences. If hip-hop remains the heart of this movement, Japanese culture has also made a place for itself in the hearts and minds of streetwear wearers. Japanese artists, themselves influenced by this new wave, are developing their own brands, with innovative designs and sales techniques. We thus find in the 90s, the GOODENOUGH brand of DJ Hiroshi Fujiwara. Its specificity? All of the label's pieces are limited in number and sold at a premium price to create a feeling of rarity and desire.
Nike is interested in the brand and is developing a collection in collaboration with the Japanese label. Shortly after, other brands were born, for example Fragment Design by Hiroshi Fujiwara, or the famous brand A Bathing Ape created by Fujiwara's protégé, Nigo. A real coup, Bape is revolutionizing the Japanese streetwear market with its exclusive and cutting-edge models whose common thread is Japanese pop culture. The carefully decorated and uniquely styled boutiques also had an effect, since the famous Parisian trendy boutique, Colette, subsequently called on its services.
Him and the creator of the brand Undercover , Jun Takahshi will also collaborate for an extremely limited clothing brand called AFFA (Anarchy Forever Forever Anarchy). It was from this period in Japan that the fashion for rarity and exclusivity really began. During this time, fashion houses such as Comme des Garçons or Kenzo, a French company founded by the Japanese Kenzo, are carving out a good place for themselves in the luxury and fashion landscape. Over time, Japanese designers like Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto have become increasingly important in the fashion industry, like the "Streetwear" movement.
American artists will start wearing pieces by Japanese designers. This is how brands like Nike and Adidas will take a much more serious interest in these new fashion heavyweights. New partnerships will then be born. We can take the example of Nike's HTM creation section, which brings together Tinker Hatfield, creator, among others, of the legendary Nike Air Max, and designer Hiroshi Fujiwara. The Undercover label also becomes a close partner of the Swoosh brand, still to this day. Iconic collaborations are thus born. For example, the famous Bapesta imagined by the creator of the label Yeezy , Kanye West, in collaboration with Bape or even the Y-3 creation line bringing together Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas. The brands of Japanese designers will also join forces with their American counterparts for unique streetwear collections. With for example: Comme des Garçons and Nike, BAPE and Adidas, etc.

SACAI, the heir of Japanese streetwear culture.

This new culture of Japanese streetwear has given many heirs. One of the first and most notable is the SACAÏ brand. Founded in 1999 in Tokyo, this label is the fruit of the work of Chitose Abe. The designer spent eight years with Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe managing the Comme des Garçons design house. Very discreet, the Japanese learns from these two illustrious designers before attempting the adventure alone. She then created the SACAI label, inspired by the particular and heterogeneous universe of Japanese capital.
Based on the work and the juxtaposition of materials, Chitose Abe is becoming more and more talked about within the underground scene. With these conceptual designs, specific to Japanese fashion, the fluidity of the silhouettes and the contemporary aspect of its models, SACAI will little by little make a place for itself in the world of fashion. Thus the brand paraded for the first time in Paris in 2006 in front of the biggest names in the industry. Devoted by insiders, the designer opened her flagship in Tokyo in 2011. The brand will then expand throughout the world with 90 stores. In 2012, SACAI entered the official Paris Fashion Week calendar. Despite its popularity in the fashion industry, the label still remains little known to the general public. The Japanese brand collaborates with Nike for an exceptional collection of sneakers. A collaboration bringing greater visibility to Chitose Abe’s creation.

NIKE SACAI, an avant-garde and unique collaboration.

Revealed during the presentation parade of the Japanese brand's SS19 collection, the collaboration between Nike and SACAI created an event in the world of fashion. sneakers . After numerous partnerships with other Japanese labels, such as Undercover or even AMBUSH , the American company gives free rein to the creative ideas of Chitose Abe. Playing with the brand's identity, the designer transposes the juxtaposition of materials and the contrast of reliefs onto Nike silhouettes. Several sneakers are thus reworked: The classic Blazer and the sporty Waffle.
Completely revisited in their design, the uppers of these silhouettes are doubled, giving a unique and avant-garde unstructured appearance. With several colors mixing red, blue and green, the first editions of these collaborations are a real success. Building on this popularity, the two brands are continuing this partnership to give other tones to the models and develop tennis outfits for American players. In a period where collaborations have become regular, the associations between American and Japanese brands remain a sure value of creativity and modernism. The Nike x Sacaï collection is the perfect example.