Nike x Virgil Abloh Release 'Off-White' Book

Nike and Virgil Abloh, the men behind Off-White™, have released a book. Called 'ICONS', the Nike x Virgil Abloh book is a dynamic retrospective of the extensive collaborative project between NIKE, Inc. and Virgil Abloh.

Nike x Virgil Abloh Sneaker Book

Starting with the "The Ten' series back in 2017, Nike's x Off-White's groundbreaking first release, ICONS "explores how the partnership works to unify all the intangible cultural threads connected to sneaker".

Nike x Off-White 'The Ten'

Within ICONS, readers will find Swooshes sliced away from Air Jordans and reapplied with tape or thread, Abloh’s quotation marks trialed on Nike Air Force 1s and Converse All Stars cut into pieces. The effect is a behind-the-scenes witness to The Ten’s 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."

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A lexicon in the second part of the book 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 as a whole.

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The art of the book has been directed and designed by Zak Group. It honors the industrial DIY aesthetic of The Ten. ICONS is published by TASCHEN.

The book builds upon Abloh's printed matter practice — archiving, documenting and storytelling through books and ephemera in service of preserving important cultural stories. As an extension of this practice, ICONS will enjoy an initial early release period through select Black-owned bookshops and independent retailers, demonstrating a shared belief in the vitality of print and the importance of local bookstores as hubs of community, culture and civic memory.

The Nike x Virgil Abloh ICONS book launched January 22 in North America on Nike.com for 70 USD, and through Off-White™ and Canary Yellow. A wider release follows February 5 from TASCHEN.com and global retailers. It is already sold out.

What do you think of Nike x Virgil Abloh releasing a book about their project? Would you like Nike to do this for football kits or boots? Comment below.