Virgil Abloh’s latest book titled ICONS gives the behind the scenes account of the investigative creative process that Abloh used in his genre-defining collaborations with Nike. The retrospective includes dives into the Nike archives, text messages between Abloh and Nike designers, and various iterations of Nike prototypes.
The retrospective documents experiments such as the Swooshes being cut off and reapplied to Jordans, the synonymous Abloh quotation marks gracing a pair of Air Force 1’s for the first time, and pairs of Converse All Stars cut to pieces. The book visually describes the DIY process that made The Ten so unique and universally appreciated. Abloh says, “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.”
ICONS will see an early release at black-owned bookstores and independent retailers to emphasis the importance of local bookstores as community hubs. On January 15th, Abloh will join Shaniqwa Jarvis in discussion on SNKRS live with book contributors Zak Kyes and Glenn Adamson.
ICONS launches January 22 via SNKRS in North America, and through Off-White™ and Canary Yellow. A wider release follows February 5 from TASCHEN.com and global retailers.
