Inside the Making of a Secret (And Genius) Nike Collab (EXCLUSIVE)
If a quiet collab between a sportswear giant and a mysterious little Japanese brand goes down in a field, does it make a sound? Only if we're the ones paying attention.
During a Saturday set at Japan’s Fuji Rock festival, Tokyo rapper IO came on stage in what appeared at first glance to be a standard Nike ACG set. But there was a twist: the one-off fit — a jacket with strips of ruffling running down its front, pants shaped by a patchwork of paneling — had actually been custom-designed by Khoki, revealed exclusively by Highsnobiety.
Simultaneously, this partnership represents a major co-sign by Nike Japan and an appropriately stealthy move for Khoki, a brand that prefers to move in (relative) silence.
The brand was founded in 2019 by an anonymous group of designers from the luxury fashion market led by Koki Abe, and has spent years establishing itself through a craft-heavy approach to clothing marked by an almost childlike, avant-garde energy.
With its Nike boost at Fuji Rock, Khoki showed why it stands out even in a market as overstuffed with interesting labels as Japan. Its design process is playful, incorporating craft traditions from around the world to create something entirely unique from vintage menswear tropes. Previous collections have utilized everything from South Asian kantha fabric weaving and Central Asian Suzani embroidery to Japanese Yuzen dyeing in the name of enlivening puffers and cargo pants alike, earning it well-deserved acclaim in its few short years.
Khoki was one of eight Tokyo Fashion Award winners in 2023, an LVMH Prize semi-finalist in 2024, and expanded into Paris in 2025 with Dover Street Market and Hong Kong earlier this year through retailer Lane Crawford’s Menswear Open House showcase. Add in a design team that stays intentionally in the shadows to keep the focus on its clothes (à la Martin Margiela), and you have one of Japan’s most exciting young brands.
Though Khoki’s ACG collab was a one-off (at least for now), getting a co-sign from a brand as huge as Nike — plus other recent partnerships, like its patchwork sneaker with OAO — signals that there’s plenty more to be seen from the enigmatic little label.
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