glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) This thread is for the praise of Nike ACG, past and present. When i was a kid, 1997, ACG was a cheap alternative to mainline Nike. Noone wanted ACG because baseball and basketball was popping off. You had penney's and mello's etc. Nike ACG 2021 Edited February 7, 2021 by glorydays 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 (edited) A Look Back: All Conditions Gear by Drew Hammell | Jan 18, 2019 | Behind-the-Scenes, Running, Sneaker History, Training January is one of the coldest, darkest times of the year in most parts of the U.S. The wind is biting, the snow is deep, and it feels like summer will never return again. In the mid-90s, Nike had a remedy for the bone-chilling temps and less-than-favorable traction: All Conditions Gear. Eastbay catalogs were chock full of hiking boots, trail shoes, Dri-FIT shirts, Therma-FIT pants, and Clima-FIT jackets that kept the body dry and comfortable no matter how hard the snow and sleet came down. One of the people responsible for a lot of what we saw and wore in the ’90s was designer Michael Hernandez. I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about what it was like to be part of a team that was setting the standard for outdoor apparel and functional innovative technologies. Drew: What was your role with Nike back in the ’90s? Michael: I was hired by Nike in 1991. During the ’90s, I held several different positions ranging from Product Graphic Designer, Art Director, Design Director and Senior Designer. I contributed on many of Nike’s sport categories during this time including Sports Graphics, Sports Marketing, Jordan, Retail (Niketown), Running, and many Special Projects. I’m a huge fan of product and brand working together to conceive and create compelling products and stories that resonate with the consumer. Product designers often find that their stories and inspiration never make it to the consumer. I was very motivated to work in collaboration with other designers and marketers with the end in mind, delivering our product with stories that inspired athletes, retailers, and consumers. Drew: Can you tell me about the ACG logo we see on all the gear? Michael: One of the Nike categories I worked extensively on was All Conditions Gear (ACG). ACG had been around for years and was known mostly for the innovative outdoor footwear. The outdoor marketplace was catering to more of a traditional outdoor consumer who wore a lot of brown shoes. ACG really started to push into new territories with product by innovating. Footwear started to become much more youthful and performance-driven, and the aesthetics started to be informed by trends happening in the marketplace. Consumers were migrating to products that embraced color and new materials. Snowboarding was really pushing outerwear in fun and interesting directions and ACG’s consumer was shifting. Another brand designer and I were asked to rebrand the ACG logo. We designed for months and presented our own ideas. They choose my design and adopted a new brand direction that was more youthful, performance-driven, and modern. The new branding supported other product categories ACG was building market share in, which included mountain biking, snowboarding, and water sports. The new logo signaled that the brand was less of a granola-eating, tree-hugging product line. ACG was heading down new paths and needed to evolve to a younger mindset. Drew: What was your favorite design/shoe/apparel? Michael: That would be the Trek Mountain Bike Team uniform. ACG sponsored the Trek Mountain Bike Team and I designed a wide range of garments with sublimated graphics that the team used to train and compete in. The jersey was in tune with the new ACG logo with its streamlined, bold, and simple aesthetic. Nike had been in the cycling business prior to ACG but began investing more into competitive biking, which eventually led to Nike sponsoring the U.S. Postal Service Cycling team. Drew: A lot of the footwear had interesting names – was there any particular model that had a great story behind it? Michael: You’re so right – ACG was known for its creative footwear names like Nike Air Rivaderchi, Pocket Knife, and Air Moc (Potato Shoe) to name just a few. I would have to say that the Air Mowabb was the shoe design that leaves the most influence over time for so many reasons. My 23 years at Nike were filled with some amazing experiences. But, most of all, I worked with so many talented people that made the most impact on my design career. I reported to Tinker Hatfield for years, working on his team and learning footwear design. I remember Tinker’s inspiration boards for the Air Mowabb. He drew everything by hand, including the logo that had a lot of personality. His ability to tell a story through his outdoor experiences (Mowabb, Utah) and design skills was impressive to say the least. The original Air Mowabb colors and material story were very fresh then and hold up to this day. This design was deemed more of an outdoor “sneaker.” ACG was leading the outdoor industry by walking away from traditional hiking designs, and running in new directions. Drew: There were many innovative technologies being introduced rather quickly, such as Dri-FIT, Therma-FIT, and Clima-FIT. Did you play a role in developing any of these fabrics, and if so, which was your favorite? Michael: Yes, the Nike-FIT system of fabric technologies were being used across the Nike categories. Dri-FIT was being used in Team Sports as a first layer that far exceeded the benefits of cotton undergarments. Nike-FIT got a real boost when it was promoted through advertising and launched a new branding scheme that I was responsible for designing. I redesigned the Nike-FIT branding marks and created a menu of product trim application to marry up with the fabrics. The trim applications menu included molded patches, woven labels, reflective labels, heat transfers, and screenprints. The benefits of Nike-FIT were also communicated with informative technical illustrations that we applied to a new Nike-FIT hangtag system and sublimated interior label packages. The new system was not confined to just apparel – footwear leveraged the fabric technologies as well. The ACG and Running categories implemented this system the deepest. The benefits of appropriate apparel layering came to a head when we educated consumers on why layering correctly improved personal performance and comfort. Drew: What are you working on currently, and can you share a little bit about The Bruin Co.? Michael: I started up my design and marketing consultancy, The Bruin Co. five years ago. I’ve designed footwear and other products, though the lion’s share of projects are focused on branding. I have branded and rebranded many clients’ businesses with a focus on elevating their brand and getting more strategic about how they tell their stories and focus on their consumers with more purpose. My last role at Nike was Global Brand Creative Director. I spent a decade at Nike focused on brand design, gaining valuable experience creating and implementing seasonal global directives that included applications for Product, Retail and Digital. I also worked on content creation that included TV broadcast and web/viral content. Thanks for the opportunity to share some of my design experiences. Design is more than a slogan. You can just do it or go big or go home. Either way it’s all about the small details. The Bruin Co. is located in Salem, Oregon. Find us at www.TheBruinCo.com and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bruinstudio/?hl=en Edited February 7, 2021 by glorydays 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat ralphy Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Jackets in that throwback catalogue are fire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 8 minutes ago, fat ralphy said: Jackets in that throwback catalogue are fire. did you ever get those eastbay catalogs back in the day mail would drop off CSS, Land's End, and EastBay LMAOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 because trends come and go the secondhand market is fucking PLUGGED with old acg gems name any resell site...guaranteed you'll find some fire ass ACG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Nike ACG – Mud-Puddles in the Concrete Desert A COLLECTOR’S CHOICE FEATURE WITH: KARL HAMACHER The ACG concept was officially introduced by Nike in 1989 and its mission was to bridge the gap between the urban aesthetics and performance in the great outdoors. For true fans, this era had already begun in the early 80s, when shoes such as the Lava Dome or Approach were first released. Yet, unlike many crossover products that followed by other brands later, ACG – especially in the early days – truly lived up to its promise. The designs were unique, the marketing on-point, the materials long-lasting and even the ventilation was superb. Many ACG models went on to become classics and have influenced the whole industry far beyond the outdoor category. And what’s even more interesting, Nike ACG has cast a very special spell on a generation of collectors. Just like All Conditions Gear has long been an underdog for the house of Swoosh, the aficionado we’re about to present to you has kept his amazing collection under the radar for a long time. No particular friend of social media, Karl Hamacher from Frankfurt, Germany, owns gems from all periods of ACG and loves everything from sneakers and apparel down to shirts, accessories and even sandals. But because he’s not only a sports shoe maniac but also a human being, he answered these questions in between changing diapers, excursions through the urban concrete landscape, a full-time job and taking his older daughter to ballet sessions. How long have you been interested in sneakers? I’ve always been a late bloomer in life, whether it was learning to talk, dating girls or finishing my studies. I always had some kind of sneaker – tennis shoes for playing tennis, later skateboard shoes for thrashing the board, the adidas Campus because of hip-hop in the 90s and later I destroyed some Air Max or Prestos on a regular basis. It started to become a more serious obsession by the end of 2009. It was the time when my girlfriend was pregnant and I was in fear that my youth was about to vaporize. It was also the era of the infamous German sneaker forum “Sneaker-TV”. I started buying a lot, but wasn’t really focused on a special brand or style. So how did the transition from collecting common sneakers like collaborations to buying all that incredible Nike ACG, Terra and Alpha Project stuff happen? It was not really a conscious decision, but more of a process. I had already collected quite an amount of vintage shoes, and at one point I had also stacked like a hundred Air Max 1 colorways, and it started to bore me to death. Discovering all that ACG stuff was a whole new world. You have a great variety of forms, colors and models and you always find some more strange and unknown stuff that you have never seen before. It’s not the usual stuff. Somehow, it has that appeal to me as if it was from the future. And that means it doesn’t get boring. At what point did you realize that your shoe passion took a turn towards the weird? There were certain incidents. I got eBay links from my old companion Wolf Naujoks who kept showing me rare shoes he would have bought if they were his size. This made it possible to buy the original ACG Terra in that purple colorway for $16. When I received that shoe I was so excited; everything about it was just perfect. So I instantly wanted to have more of that drug. And I started to search. If you have a lot, you want even more to complete the sets. I am still searching for the OG Tallac and Tallac Lite Gore-Tex by the way. You heard it folks, hit him up if you got a pair. In general, which attributes does a shoe need to get your attention? Gore-Tex. You always get me with Gore-Tex. I like shoes which are useful on a daily basis. Innovative stuff which is still comfy. The form is also important. The whole package has to fit. Do you instantly love certain models or does it take time to appreciate them? Sometimes it’s instant love, but especially with newer stuff I might first think “no” but then start to understand the idea behind it. It was like that with the Nike ACG Lupinek. It’s the only shoe I doubled up on. While we’re at it, please tell us five Nike ACG or Terra shoes which are the most relevant to you. ACG Mowabb Plus because of comfort and materials. ACG Dri Goat Alpha Project Gore-Tex. It just has it all. The Deschütz Sandal: the mother of all sandals. Terra Albis and Sertig; the Albis 2 is my favorite because of the lacing system. And the NikeLab ACG Lupinek is one of the best shoes Nike released in the last years. With Gore-Tex it would be much better of course. What are your thoughts on Nike now building ACG more or less around one person, Acronym’s Errolson Hugh? Errolson is an outstanding designer and one of the most visionary minds of our time. The Acronym stuff is just great. The danger is that it gets boring after a while. On the other hand, it’s great that ACG is linked to a person with such a mystical aura, so it gains a lot of attention. It is a win-win situation for both Nike and Errolson Hugh. The gear is great, but the shoes need better materials to fulfill the promise of ACG. It should be renamed UCG – Urban Conditions Gear. Do you also feel like the whole ACG marketing and image was different back then? Just have a look at some of those names – “Deschütz” and so on. I am sure that the creators of that stuff, Tinker Hatfield, Steve McDonald and Peter Fogg, are really crazy guys. And you need a sense of humor to create products like this. They were far out and ahead of their time. It was a crazy time and the results speak for themselves. I’m just a bit disappointed that Nike doesn’t pay attention to those details anymore like they did. Just think of the great names Nike used to give their older ACG and Terra shoes. “Sertig” and “Albis” are mountains in Switzerland. The “Deschütz” sandal refers to how Germans spell the Deschutz River in Oregon. What would you wish for the future of sneakers? You cannot turn back the wheels of time, but I would like to see more diversity on the streets. I wish that younger people would start to look at what else is out there besides the popular stuff. From Nike I want more attention to details and materials. If they sell a “water-resistant” shoe, I would like to be able to walk in them on the shorelines of a beach with dry feet. Do you want to share any last words with us? I think a Nike VaporMax is for a startup, third-wave, coffee-ramen-burger, Instagram-blogger guy what a Nike Mowabb was for the geography teacher or the lonesome hiker back in the day. So it’s all a circle. ACG is like a good song. Not everybody understands it, and you can even give it a unique meaning for yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 I'm gonna start putting up sites where old ACG stuff, as well as new stuff, can be found on the internet GET QUALITY AND FUCK HYPE https://www.etsy.com/market/90s_nike_acg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 vintage ACG ads fucking miss these types of ads in magazines before influencer shit the product was front and center of the page 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kults Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I love all of it. That vintage ACG stuff is too good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kults Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 On 2/8/2021 at 11:35 AM, glorydays said: I'm gonna start putting up sites where old ACG stuff, as well as new stuff, can be found on the internet GET QUALITY AND FUCK HYPE https://www.etsy.com/market/90s_nike_acg Its a shame the 30 year old glue would fall apart the second you put them on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, Kults said: Its a shame the 30 year old glue would fall apart the second you put them on I'm going to be putting up another post about the "eras" of ACG after 1999 some of these shoes will last you a life time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KILZ FILLZ Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 I had some ACG that looked like track shoes. Rode em til the wheels fell off 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 1 minute ago, KILZ FILLZ said: I had some ACG that looked like track shoes. Rode em til the wheels fell off i did the same in grade school. them shits lasted almost 2 years. it was a turf training shoe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KILZ FILLZ Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 Do you have a Nordstrom Rack anywhere near you? @glorydaysi usually have good luck hunting sneakers there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 Just now, KILZ FILLZ said: Do you have a Nordstrom Rack anywhere near you? @glorydaysi usually have good luck hunting sneakers there. oh yea i do i forgot about that yea nordstrom and nordstrom rack is a fucking gold mine for cheap heat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 @KILZ FILLZI'm also gonna be posting up URL's of heat for whoever wants it I also wanna talk about Errolson Hugh's affect on ACG 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KILZ FILLZ Posted February 10, 2021 Share Posted February 10, 2021 @glorydaysI’ve been lucky enough to cop two pair of spizikes there, in my size, that never has anything dope left in stock anywhere else. Have almost completely moved to asiic gel lyte but would never pass up a good deal. I’ve been trying to come across some ACG for a few years but haven’t seen anymore at the Rack near me. sorry for derailing with non ACG talk 😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 Just now, KILZ FILLZ said: @glorydaysI’ve been lucky enough to cop two pair of spizikes there, in my size, that never has anything dope left in stock anywhere else. Have almost completely moved to asiic gel lyte but would never pass up a good deal. I’ve been trying to come across some ACG for a few years but haven’t seen anymore at the Rack near me. sorry for derailing with non ACG talk 😬 nah, what you said deals with ACG the past 6 years weren't really ACG but more acronym because of hugh's vision some ACG heads called it Urban conditions gear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 11, 2021 Author Share Posted February 11, 2021 NEXT ACG COP nike acg zoom air ao 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glorydays Posted February 11, 2021 Author Share Posted February 11, 2021 Sorry about the lack of real ACG updates jiu jitsu has taken up most of my free time I'll get back on it this weekend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawaparen Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 When I was a teenager, I had a Ugg Nike and it was my favorite shoe. I wore them until they turned into garbage and even then it was a pity to throw them away. I have been looking for a replacement for a long time and have not found anything like this. My friend advised me to try air jordan at forstepstyle and now it's my favorite shoe. They are comfortable and do not sweat my feet, which is very important to me. I bought 4 pairs at once so as not to look for them later if they are not on sale in stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightmareOnElmStreet Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 Dopest line ever. Purple and tan combos for miles. Straight fire and hard af to find now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnitzel Posted July 27, 2023 Share Posted July 27, 2023 my dad bought me a pair of these back from the US in 1993 was fucking devo'd because I asked him to bring back some Airmax which were harder to come by. looking back they were pretty cool. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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