US Colleges get a Vintage Nike Makeover
As a collector, there are few brands and eras I enjoy as much as Nike in the 90s.
There’s something really enjoyable about the time period for the Swoosh. After decades of dominance from the behemoth adidas, Nike rose to prominence with designs that moved the shirt industry forward in an exciting and positive way. The charm of 90s Nike shirts only grows to this day.
This week, a collection of reworked vintage Nike shirts caught my eye. The “End of Summer” collection from creative studio “Participation Trophy Studio” includes a range of classic Nike designs, customised to look as if they were a series of kits from US college soccer teams.
A number of things stand out in the collection, not least the colours on display. The horizontal pinstripe Nike template is quite a familiar one, but I’ve never seen at least half of the colourways that are included in “End of Summer”.
These colourways pair perfectly with the chosen US colleges. My knowledge of the college scene stateside is relatively nominal, but nonetheless many familiar names are here including Florida Stata, Syracuse and Duke. The bespoke typefaces and crests that correspond to these colleges are an aesthetic delight.
Finally, I have to give a shoutout to the photography. Good shirts can be ruined by substandard photography, but the lookbook that accompanies “End of Summer” is everything you want to see.
Each of the reworked vintage Nike shirts in “End of Summer” is a one-off piece that’s available to buy directly from “Participation Trophy Studio”.
