In anticipation of this year's World Cup in Russia, Nike has tapped two designers, Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones, to create a pair of celebratory capsule collections. Here, we get a look at Abloh's contribution, which includes apparel, accessories, and footwear, all dropping in time for the opening ceremony today (June 14).
Football no doubt holds a special place in Abloh's heart, and this project is an opportunity for the designer to call upon memories of his youth.
“The great thing about the vocabulary and history of football is that aesthetically it has its own look," says Abloh. "I was always inspired by the way European teams have a sponsor printed over the chest. When I was working on this collection, I wanted to celebrate the different variants of typography."
The black and white checkerboard featured throughout the capsule references Croatia’s uniform, while the lion logo with orange and blue dots is a nod to the Netherlands crest. Each number utilized represents a jersey Abloh himself wore during his playing days.
Alongside the apparel and accessories is the Flyknit Zoom Fly, which points back to Virgil's Mercurial collab.
“I wanted to communicate where a player strikes the ball. So I put dots on the boot. If you’re going to strike the ball, your foot-eye coordination is basically the only variance of chance," Abloh explains. "That's what the collection started with, these running shoes that mimic the same as your actual boot on the pitch so that you started subconsciously training all the time. Then I just applied that aesthetic from the bottom up.”
The full collection will be available to EU and U.S. markets on Nike's website today at 10am CEST and 10am EST respectively. To whet your appetite before the copping madness begins, we've taken a closer look at every component of Virgil Abloh's OFF-WHITE x Nike “Football, Mon Amour” collection.
Scroll through the sneakers, apparel, and accessories below, and be sure to come back at drop time to click the links and cop.
Sneakers
Tops
Bottoms
Accessories
Now, here's how you can finally cop Nigeria's incredible World Cup jersey.
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