Nike to Showcase Its Design Journey in First-Ever Museum Exhibition
Glenn Adamson curates Nike’s five-decade evolution at Vitra Design Museum.
The Vitra Design Museum in Germany will present Nike: Form Follows Motion, the first-ever museum exhibition dedicated to the world-renowned sports brand. Opening on September 21, this groundbreaking showcase explores Nike’s evolution from a grassroots startup to a global phenomenon over five decades.
Curated by Glenn Adamson, the exhibition offers an unprecedented look into Nike’s design history. Visitors will journey through the company’s beginnings in the 1960s, the creation of its famous Swoosh logo and the development of its iconic products like Air Max and Flyknit. The showcase also delves into Nike’s current research on future materials and sustainability.
Most exhibits are sourced from the Department of Nike Archives, which houses over 200,000 items. Rare artifacts include experimental prototypes of the Waffle sneaker, Air Force One and Shox as well as original design studies for shoes and apparel. The exhibition highlights the creative contributions of in-house designers like Diane Katz, Tinker Hatfield and Eric Avar, alongside external collaborators such as Marc Newson, Comme des Garçons and Virgil Abloh.
Structured in four chronological sections: Track, Air, Sensation and Collaboration – the exhibition examines Nike’s unique design laboratory and its role in technological innovation and social change. It also explores the brand’s influence on pop culture and its symbiosis with sports, reflecting ideals of the human body, well-being, diversity and equality.
The Nike: Form Follows Motion exhibition is open from September 21, 2024 and will remain on view until May 4, 2025.
Vitra Design Museum
Charles-Eames-Str. 2
D-79576 Weil am Rhein
Germany
