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Nike focuses on women sneakers with ‘Unlaced' initiative

By Danielle Wightman-Stone

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Fashion

Nike has unveiled a number of initiatives to “redefining the future state of footwear for women” including the launch of special trainers available in smaller sizes as part of Nike Unlaced, a new female-focus strategy launched during Paris Fashion Week.

The new ‘Unlaced’ retail concept has been billed as a “love letter to women” and a “fantasy sneaker destination” focusing entirely on women’s products both sportswear and performance.

Set to launch online on March 27, Nike Unlaced will be built into global retail locations from autumn 2018, as well as having a footprint on the Nike website, and follows an evolution in Europe, which provided a distinction for women through product styling and local curators, and expands upon the Nike x Nordstrom sneaker boutique retail and digital experience, co-created with Olivia Kim in North America.

The initiative will also include curator-led in-store collaborations with “influential creative and stylists” from New York, Paris, London and Shanghai, and new services such as the ability to personalise shoes, have VIP member experiences, such as same-day delivery and exclusive hours, as well as the opportunity to arrange one-on-one appointments with guest stylists and specialised packaging.

Nike launches Unlaced project aimed at female trainer fans

Nike will also be offering extended sizing, including smaller sizes aimed at the female consumer, in the Nike Air Force 1 and Air Max lines. There will also be unisex sizing on select classic Jordan styles and collaborative collections such as Virgil Abloh X Nike The Ten line, which Nike hopes will prevent women from being frustrated at missing out due to size unavailability.

The final element of Nike’s strategy to increase female representation in the predominantly male-dominated sneaker community, it will also be introducing “new voices” to the design process, in an attempt to push new female voices. This follows creative partnerships with the A.L.C.’s Andrea Lieberman and the International Girls Crew on the iconic Nike Cortez which Nike states has “given new scope to sneaker collaborations”. This has been highlighted with the recent The 1 Reimagined project, Nike’s first collection of footwear designed entirely by a 14-strong female design collective.

Nike added: “These projects define the future state of footwear for women, where more curation and collaboration can be expected, but also an increase in female representation is poised to manifest new ideas not just for women but all sneaker enthusiasts.”

Images: courtesy of Nike

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