by
Nike’s N7 collection rallies around the call: “Move Your Generation.” Athletes and Nike N7 ambassadors Lyle Thompson, a lacrosse player and Iroquois Confederacy Ambassador, and Jude Schimmel, a basketball player from Umatilla Tribes, exemplify this can-do spirit. So, too, does contemporary artist and activist Bunky Echo-Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and Yakama Nation of Washington, whose work inspires the line.
For Spring 2016, designers were captivated by the pastiche of acrylic pigments dotting Echo-Hawk’s well-worn jeans.
An approximation of these painterly marks appear on the Nike N7 Splash Tee for men and Nike N7 Splash Tank for women, as well as on the Nike N7 Air Max Tavas and Nike N7 Juvenate sneakers.
Dynamic silhouettes, such as the Nike N7 Hybrid Jacket for both men and women, are enhanced with reflective inserts.
“For my culture, springtime is an awakening,” says Echo-Hawk, explaining the dark turquoise, bright crimson, pale green and light silver color schemes. “The snow is receding, the Earth is waking back up and there is life coming back to the prairie. For us, a color like crimson is a shade of red coming from black, which is the color of wintertime. So there is a definite meaning tied up with all these colors.”
Additional motifs include graphic triangles on jackets and sweatpants and four-point stars on the back of the women’s Nike N7 Block Star Tight. “It’s something that a lot of tribal communities identify with,” notes Echo-Hawk, who has a pair of stars tattooed on his arms. “They pay homage to the power that is above us.”
In his travels, the artist has witnessed first-hand how N7 has generated self-confidence in Native communities. “I’ve seen tribal elders as well as young kids wearing the collection,” he says. “People are excited to see a cutting-edge line that celebrates their culture. It’s a game-changer in our community. Kids are tapping into the cultural message of the clothing.”
“I’ve met young people who say that one of their goals in life is to be a Nike N7 ambassador,” he continues. “These communities are in dire need of having hope and motivation. Nike understands that N7 is not just another apparel line.”
Come spring, will Echo-Hawk be rocking a pair of the prismatic Air Max Tavas? “Definitely!” he declares. “In fact, I will probably need several pairs — one to paint in and one to wear.”
The Nike N7 Spring Collection is available March 19 at Nike.com and select retailers. For more information about N7, visit N7Fund.com, and follow Nike N7 on Facebook and Twitter.
