On Thursday, August 21, Nike (NYSE:NKE) will celebrate the true style
and echo the spirit of sport as Mercer Street is transformed into a
stadium to open the doors to its first Nike Sportswear stand-alone store
at 21 Mercer Street in New York. Taking over the entire block between
Grand and Howard streets, Nike friends, family and special guests will
enter the event with game ticket in hand to experience a sporting event
like no other. Featuring an all-star lineup of athletes, icons and
artists, this will truly be a night to remember as Nike opens a new
chapter to add to its 36-year sports heritage.
Nike Sportswear’s guests will enter the Mercer
Street block party through arena-like turnstiles and, as they come
through the entrance tunnel, will be faced with eight gigantic screens
modeled after those lining the stands in New York’s
famed stadiums. Running the full length of the block, the screens will
showcase Nike’s commitment to sports as seen
through the eyes of artists, photographers, and filmmakers including Tim
McGurr, son of legendary street icon Futura; legendary documentary
photographer Boogie; DQM architect, former pro-skater and avid cyclist,
Kyle Demers; streetball documenter, Hugues Lawson-Body; mogul-in-waiting
and downtown blogger, Heron Preston; photographers Yamandu Roos and
Cheryl Dunn; artist Todd James, aka REAS; and “Dog
Town” pioneer Craig R. Stecyk III. In true
Nike Sportswear fashion, these artists were commissioned to showcase not
only athletic prowess and achievement, but also a streetwise sensibility
that comes from being an originator. Nike Sportswear pushed innovation
farther again, enlisting this team of artists to square off against
avant-garde legend Robert Wilson in a 90-minute video zine. And then, at
event halftime, the doors to 21 Mercer will open allowing guests to be
the first to experience the store.
No block party is complete without its DJ. So, Nike invited
genre-hopping, Grammy Award–winning DJ,
musician, and producer, as well as, Mercer Street neighbor, Mark Ronson
to join the celebration of Nike Sportswear, its athletes, and of course
its artistic partners, to provide the soundtrack for the night. A bona
fide sufferer of musical A.D.D. who cut his teeth on the NYC party
circuit as a teenager, Ronson has mined his primary musical influences
of classic soul, Brit rock, and hip-hop to forge a unique sound that
simultaneously pays homage to the artist’s own
imagination and the legacy of a legion of musical forebears. Ronson has
come out of his self-imposed DJ retirement to perform at the event,
which is inspired exclusively by the city of New York and its score of
musical icons — quite fitting since his studio
is a stone’s throw from 21 Mercer.
On 08.21.08, New York City and Nike Sportswear set the stage for a true
sporting experience. We toast the opening of Nike Sportswear at 21
Mercer St. — the only location to carry the
entire NSW collection globally. The Nike Sportswear store in New
York will be open to the public on 8.22.08.
For additional media information, please visit www.nikesportswearmedia.com.
About Nike Sportswear
Nike Sportswear is a product line rooted in the company’s
passion for sport while at the same time remixing and improving iconic
designs with new technologies. With almost four decades of sport history
at its foundation, Nike Sportswear seeks to channel the genuine rebel
spirit of Nike’s roots by crafting product
that challenges the expected, asking designers to push athletic
innovation to its extreme, remixing iconic designs with new technologies
and making the best product for today’s
needs. Nike Sportswear launches on 8.8.08 with eight iconic Nike
products celebrating the legacy of Nike design. It includes: the Air
Force 1, the Windrunner, AW 77 Hoody, the Nike Dunk, Air Max 90, Eugene
Track Jacket, the Cortez and NSW Tee. For more information, nikesportswear.com
About Nike
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse
Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel
and accessories; Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes
luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; and Hurley International
LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth
lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, www.nikebiz.com.
Nike
New York Media Relations, 212-367-4447
