Sacai Founder Chitose Abe describes intuition as a guiding force for the latest Sacai x Nike 11-piece collection collaboration, combining the past and present of Nike’s running apparel innovations with strikingly-contrasted logos, patterns, colors and hemlines.

Abe’s signature design language brings a new irreverence to running style and extends a partnership with Nike that began in 2014. “Sacai was just at the beginning of its foray into the international realm,” says Fraser Cooke, Special Projects Senior Director. “We saw immediately that Abe is very good at mixing up sportswear with high fashion. One of the things that we thought was really interesting about working with sacai was her way of layering and draping.”

Her capacity to deconstruct and reconstruct ideas — a hallmark of Sacai — gives an unmistakable character to the current collaborative effort. The process also allows for a twofold hybridization. The first is a melding of ideas, the second in true balance of activity.

Reaffirming appreciation for Nike’s history and heritage comes through in Abe’s reimagining of running garments. She transforms the storied Windrunner into a skirt, grants an irreverence to the usually mundane half-zip and adds a refined edge to the classic Tiempo short. Her longstanding virtuosity in layering and draping is on full display.

Nike’s mastery in shoe design is clear in making Abe’s imagined footwear fusion tangible. The resulting sneaker, a sterling example of equal contribution, certainly creates an entity greater than a simple mash-up of its components. It is symbolic of the Sacai x Nike running collection as a whole — rethinking the relationship between craft, material and symbol with aplomb.