How Nike became the biggest fashion brand in the world

Nike Off-White collaboration

Biblical rains have always represented new beginnings, so maybe the typhoon rolling into Tokyo wasn't the worst news for John Elliott. In 2016, Elliott was in the city working on an upcoming collection when the call came through: Fraser Cooke, Nike's senior director of influencer marketing, was in town and wanted to hang. That's when the rain started. The conversation was, unavoidably, intimate: they crammed together under a balcony the size of a double bed to avoid getting wet. This was the sort of informal interview that Elliott, who used to draw sneaker designs and send them to Nike as a kid, had been waiting a lifetime for. He and Cooke talked about everything: different subcultures, music they were into, cities they love to visit, how their life paths lead to the drenched table they were sitting at. And, of course: Nike. The meeting went on like this for four hours, pausing every once in a while when the patter of rain could no longer be ignored. Elliott was an hour late for an epic sushi dinner at Kyubey Ginza. His dinner mates were mad, and instead of legendary sushi, Elliott got food from a convenience store that night. "But I made the right choice," he says. "Would make the same call one million out of one million times."

He'd been in touch with Nike before—the brand gave him some sneakers for runway shows. But after that meeting, Elliott finally got to give his take on the Nike Vandal, a sneaker that Elliott skated in as a kid. After practically a lifetime of patience, his first shoe sold out in only a couple seconds. He's not alone.

Today, designer Nikes like Elliott's are everywhere. If there is a connective tissue to fashion week in 2018, it's the omnipresent Swooshed sneakers and apparel. Nike's World Cup collections were spearheaded by Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones. And now, fashionable Nike gear is starting to seep onto the court, too through Elliott's collection with LeBron James and Serena Williams's U.S. open uniform designed by Off-White. At Paris Fashion Week this summer, there they were at Undercover, Sacai, Craig Green, Off-White, and Alyx. Fashion week is where brands and designers unveil their new collections, but it's also increasingly where they flex their hottest new Nikes. Where What are those? takes on a frantic and literal tenor among those in the audience. The strategy stands out from other sneaker companies, who chase down entertainers like Hollywood agents or appoint them brand creative director.

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