Nike has always existed somewhere between athletic brand and lifestyle brand, but its latest release sits firmly in the realm of performance.
The Blueprint Pack is Nike's most technologically advanced footwear collection, according to the brand. It's also an homage to Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, the guy responsible for ensuring Nike sneakers don't just look good with jeans and sweater, but serve athletes on the track, field, court — wherever they are.
The 13-piece Blueprint Pack revolves around Nike's updated Air technology, now built into new versions of the Nike Victory 2 and Nike Maxfly 2 track shoes, the G.T. Hustle 3 basketball shoe, and the 2024 Nike Mercurial, a soccer bootie. The rest of the collection, which also includes a lifestyle sneaker, will be revealed later this season.
In addition to updating the iconic Nike Air unit, the Blueprint Pack also raises a glass to the late Bowerman. According to a press release, Nike's designers looked at old notebooks belonging to the brand's co-founding father and created a typography based on his handwriting.
Bowerman, who was also a track a field coach, was so concerned about performance that he was known to draw the Nike swoosh onto certain sneakers rather than risk the added weight of embroidering the logo onto a shoe — so it’s fitting that he’s the inspiration behind the collection, which launches on July 3, just before the 2024 Paris Olympics.
