032c 造访 Nike HTM 部门

成立于 2002 年由 Nike CEO Mark Parker，Nike 设计师 Tinker Hatfield 以及潮流教父 Hiroshi Fujiwara 三人所主理的 Nike HTM 特别部门是主要负责 Nike 特别版本的鞋款以及一些类似于 Macropus LC 或 SolarSoft Sandal 等的特殊鞋款在市场上的发售。最近来自柏林独立杂志《 032c Magazine》Jonathan Olivares和 Gary Warnett 就有机会对 HTM 和其主理人进行了一次深入的探究。在访问中著重地了解 Nike 的核心研究团队的本质，谈论到方法，设计和影响因素等话题，同时也藉此宣传他们的创新精神等有关内容。有兴趣的朋友可以通过以下的访问摘要或通过到 The Business of Fashion 阅读完整的访问，同时也可以购买最新一期由 Rihanna 担任封面人物的《 032c Magazine》杂志。

How does Nike avoid being the victim of its own success? The answer is HTM, a three-person design collaboration between chief executive Mark Parker, designer Tinker Hatfield, and cultural consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara.

Nike Inc. is a multinational corporation based in Beaverton, Oregon, that employs more than 44,000 individuals in more than 160 countries. Newsweek once said Nike had incited a “new religion of brand consciousness,” while The Los Angeles Times claimed that the company was “so much part of everyday culture in so many countries it’s frightening.” Since Mark Parker became CEO in 2006, Nike’s annual revenue is up 60 percent, profits have increased 57 percent, and its market cap has more than doubled. Yet Parker is anything but complacent: “One of my fears is being this big, slow, constipated, bureaucratic company that’s happy with its success,” he explained.

So how does Nike avoid this, and continue to scale its extreme relevance? The answer is HTM, a three-person design collaboration between designer Tinker Hatfield, creative consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Parker himself, that functions as Nike’s core R&D team. HTM takes its initials from the first names of its members, and was formed in 2002 under the broad mission “to amplify new innovations, reinterpret existing designs, and explore concepts that take the brand to new places.” To date the trio has launched 17 widely varied limited-edition shoes. HTM is an unusual collaboration: it resides within a $26-billion dollar company yet it operates without deadlines or budget constraints and is guided solely by the interests of its three members.

Parker describes HTM as the company’s enema, and he believes it has the potential to change everything. On a pristine day in late August I had traveled to Nike’s headquarters to discuss this unique collaboration, its methods, designs, and impact on the company and footwear design.