Just Another Nike Blog

 The Nike x Naomi Osaka x CDG Blazer celebrates the irrefutable power of the tennis star’s cultural footprint. Osaka's success on the court is proven as a three-time Grand Slam champion. She also makes an impact off the court, as an advocate for change in the social- and racial-justice movement and as a role model encouraging and empowering the next generation of female athletes. For this reason, Osaka has been honored as one of the "People of the Year" by Comme des Garçons and SWITCH Publishing.  The Nike x Naomi Osaka x CDG Blazer is an extension of the accolade. The partnership also furthers Osaka's fashion credentials and nods to a shared Japanese heritage.  The choice of the Nike Blazer relays decades-old sport history and a cultural authenticity. Debuted as a basketball shoe in 1972, the shoe has been part of the core Nike SB line for more than a decade and has enjoyed a string of art world and fashion collaborations. (CDG has used the silhouette several times.)...

\  If design is a kind of visual listening, then creating signature apparel for athletes means listening to their values and origins, and illustrating an identity. In Naomi Osaka’s new apparel capsule, which presents her new logo on select pieces for the first time, the spirits of her three continental backgrounds are combined for a look that embodies the full meaning of a signature line. The collection includes a range of casual, style-led pieces — polos, T-shirts, sweatshirts, sport tops, shorts — and accessories like fanny packs. Osaka’s logo is on each piece. The mark is influenced by the national flag of Japan, and its simplicity is graphically flexible, befitting her multicultural background. The long-sleeve shirt shows off the capsule’s key design tribute: a camo print inspired by the coordinates of Japan, Haiti and the United States. The digits from each nation were fed through a digital algorithm to create the unique pattern. The collection releases November 16 throughout ...

Tennis champion announces Play Academy with Naomi Osaka — and reflects on the power of role models to help change the game for girls. I remember the first time I thought, OK, this might be bigger than tennis. I was playing at a tournament. Someone — a parent — came up to me and told me that they had kids who were biracial too, and that they really appreciated how their kids had a role model to look up to. And just, thank you, for being a good example. Naomi Osaka Play Academy  0 Naomi Osaka Honestly, I don’t even remember what I said. I just know that those words blew me away. And then later on, when kids started coming up to me, asking for pictures and autographs, I wanted to cry, my heart felt so full. It was only a few years ago that I had been in their shoes, you know? It got me thinking about the role models that I’ve had in my life — the people who have been examples for me and inspirations to dream big. People like my mom, who always puts others first. My siste...

Meet Keiko from Queens. Where she’s from, there aren’t a lot of girls into tennis, let alone girls who look like her. But then there’s Naomi Osaka. She’s into tennis. She looks like Keiko. She even plays like Keiko. Or better yet, Keiko plays like her. #SportChangesEverything

When Japan's world No. 1, Naomi Osaka, takes the court to defend her title in New York, she’ll do so as the first athlete to wear exclusive NikeCourt x sacai performance apparel. The Japanese fashion label, led by Chitose Abe, specializes in crafting arresting silhouettes through experiments in hybridity. Osaka’s outfit is no exception. Most evident: The doubled skirt adds depth and dimension to a tennis standard. More covert: The ensemble is formed with an eye to bridging tennis’ athletic present with its past traditions. From a distance, the two-piece outfit appears to be a dress; at closer glance, one sees an elegant articulation of a contemporary bodysuit. Osaka’s look is fitting for the year’s final major. At the end of each summer the sporting world turns attention to Flushing, Queens for a major cemented as tennis’ premier convention-challenging event. It has, during the decades, affirmed the unique synergy of athleticism and style in tennis. Here, the drama of sport i...