For those of you who follow Kim Jones on Instagram, you will know that he is an avid traveller, as evidenced by the various photographs of latest glamourous LV back in selection of exotic world destinations – Tokyo, Seoul, the Chiltern Firehouse. There’s even one that features a small dog inside, that, on closer inspection, appears to be owned by Kelly Osbourne. Ze glamour! Either way, he knows travel. And now, he is bringing those skills to his NikeLab, who he is collaborating with on a special new collection, entitled NikeLab x Kim Jones: Packable Sport Style, inspired by the idea of an athlete travelling to Rio de Janeiro for this summer’s Olympics. He is also, for those of you who don’t know, a full on trainer addict, owning over 500 pairs of the things. Basically, he’s the perfect man for the job. Here, he answers a few questions about the line and his love of all things Nike…
What are your earliest memories of Nike?
Being obsessed with having to have a pair of Nikes when I was about 13, or maybe even 12, and just nagging my parents to buy them for me. I saw them and immediately wanted them.
Do you remember the early styles that you were into?
Silver Nike Vandals.
The overarching theme of the collection is “packables,” and your love of travel. Why is travel valuable to you?
I love to find new things, do new stuff, see new places… I want to see the whole world before I die. Nature is a big part of my interests. You have to go a long way to find things now, but if you don’t go there you don’t know what you’re going to see. It’s fine to look on the Internet or in a book, but I like to see, touch, look at things and be inspired by culture, wildlife, people… I’m quite sensory in that way. I do a bit of initial research on the Internet to see where I want to go, but you don’t know what you’re going to find on the corner when you get there. That’s the most exciting thing.
So what are the top five places you’ve visited?
Easter Island, Mongolia, tons of different countries in Africa — maybe Ethiopia, the Maldives, because it’s amazing. I love Siem Reap in Cambodia. I love India — Rajasthan, particularly… London, because it’s my hometown, tons of South America — the Galapagos Islands… Patagonia is amazing. Bhutan was really incredible.
To marry your love of travel with your interest in street culture and sportswear: Where do you see strong street fashion these days?
Tokyo for one, and I like LA at the moment. I like Sao Paolo. I haven’t been to Australia for a while, but the last time I went I thought it was really interesting and New Zealand, because there are a lot of homegrown designers who are experimenting with things.
