As Nike sales continue to slump, the brand is dusting off former exec Tom Peddie to rekindle things with retail partners now that their direct-to-consumer strategy losing steam. If that wasn’t enough, running newcomers On Cloud and Hoka have won the hearts of consumers with innovative support technology.
The shoe dog is bugging out. In response to drifting consumer attention, they have a wild card to match: the Nike Athena and Zeus sunglasses.
Addressing the drop in a recent press release, Chief Innovation Officer John Hoke stated “While we were initially focused on designing something for competition, the insight we heard from our athletes is the need for a mental edge or advantage, before and after competing.”
De-facto fashion brands such as Balenciaga and Moncler have successfully made unconventional, even unsettling eyewear designs a public interest, not to mention Oakley’s “Y2K mad scientist” legacy despite a shift towards traditional shapes.
While Nike is by most definitions a mass-market supplier of athletic and lifestyle products, you can always expect a viral release every once in a while to push the culture along—namely the Nike Mag or Nike MaxSight contact lenses developed alongside Bausch & Lomb.
Releasing in the wake of Nike’s “athleisure era” defined by an emphasis on casual apparel, the avant-garde spectacles could be a turning point into specialty products once again as competitors sway the swoosh’s performance customer.
Dubbed a “celebration of asymmetry and expression” per Nike, the Athena’s appearance embodies the idea that these aren’t meant to support athleticism, but to intimidate the opponent in moments that bookend the competition.
The Athenas are lightweight thanks to stainless-steel arms and a no-screw construction. The lenses are also positioned further away from the face to prevent eyelashes from brushing up against the screen-like design of monolens sunglasses.
With a green-orange reflective gradient, reptilian spots near the hinges, and a mismatched lens shape, it’s as if a cubist Picasso work, a gecko, and a construction vest were placed in a particle accelerator and the Athena remained.
The Nike Zeus aligns more with Nike’s speed-centric ethos—in an insectoid coat of paint.
Made of a lightweight titanium frame, the wiry, perforated zones surrounding the temples resemble the antennae of an insect while the tri-colored mask between the lenses mimics the armor of Japanese beetles. Even if they’re meant to be worn off the track or field, the aerodynamic profile of the Zeus sunglasses makes it obvious that these are the work of an athletic company, unlike the Athenas.
Both models of eyewear released on Nike’s website on July 24th with the Athena retailing for $250 and the Zeus for $500.
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