ICONS, THE NEW BOOK BY VIRGIL ABLOH AND NIKE

This time, no sneakers. Instead, a book called Icons that recounts the joint effort between Nike and Virgil Abloh. Published by Taschen, the dynamic retrospective captures the extensive collaborative project between the sports powerhouse and the forward-thinking designer, exploring the success of the partnership in unifying all the intangible cultural threads connected to sneakers. The book traces Abloh’s investigative, creative process through documentation of prototypes, his original text messages with Nike designers;and treasures from the Nike archives. Underpinned by the buzzy, game-changing The Ten sneakers, Icons reveals the behind-the-scenes activity to the kicks’ DIY approach, which gives each model in the Off-White™;c/o Nike collection its own unique touch. "The foundation of my practice isn’t nearly the end result — it’s rigor and process of the logic. The archive is the paper trail of those artifacts," says Abloh.;"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." Texts by Hiroshi Fujiwara, writer Troy Patterson, curator and historian Glenn Adamson;and Abloh himself describe the collaborative work within fashion and design history. Part two explains the scene from which the project grew and introduces the people, places, objects, ideas, materials and expressions that form the foundation of sneaker culture in its entirety. Founded by Benedikt Taschen in 1980, the leading publishing house is known for its extraordinary collaborations with the world’s most influential artists, photographers, musicians, designers;and pop-culture icons.