#FactsFriday: ACRONYM

With the exciting ACRONYM x Nike Air Presto Mid 2018 pack dropping tomorrow via live raffle at Shelflife stores, it's worth taking a brief look at the ACRONYM brand and how it became and remained one of the most popular “techwear” brands. 

 

ACRONMYN is regarded by those that love technical apparel as the definition of modern techwear with its countless innovations introduced to the field. Though the brand maintains a relatively small operation and spends no money on marketing, its impact on fashion sportswear industry is massive and undeniable. The small team is actually a source of strength, they say, and the company prides itself on their ability to quickly innovate and react to new technologies or production methods. This uncompromising approach is how the team is able to make some of the best technical apparel for everyday life on the market today.



 

But let's look at the beginning. ACRONYM was founded in 1999 as a legal entity by Errolson Hugh and Michaela Sachenbacher. Before ACRONYM created their own products, the company operated as a design agency offering consulting services to the activewear industry. They began working with a German snowboarding company called Protective, which lead them to a role with Burton Snowboards.

Their relationship with Burton was a fruitful one that lasted nearly 14 years. At Burton, Hugh helped bring uncompromising technical innovations to traditional snowboarding gear. He describes their working relationship as a positive one: “Burton was great because they were so irreverent. Snowboarding's inherently technical. You need the protection, you need the performance for the activity, but it's got such a punk rock spirit to it. There was never an idea that was too crazy.”



 

Working heavily with sportswear and military technology, Hugh and Sachenbacher developed an interest in applying them to everyday attire. In between their consulting work, Hugh and Sachenbacher planned out the scope and identity of ACRONYM as an independent label. The design process for the first products took 2 years and were not released until 2002.



 

However, most of you that are not complete techwear fanatics will only have  been introduced to ACRONYM when they collaborated with Nike in 2015. But for this collaborative relationship to have been possible, co-founder Errolson Hugh had to first make ties with Nike by breathing new-life into their ACG (All Conditions Gear) range. First created in 1998, Nike’s ACG range was created for the outdoor enthusiast. This changed with the introduction of NikeLab ACG, which was aimed at sport utility for city dwellers, as opposed to ACG’s previous outdoor focus. 



 

Despite this important involvement in ACG’s reintroduction to the world, Errolson Hugh’s most visable effects on the Nike brand come in the form of the highly sought-after ACRONYM x Nike sneakers. This popular collaborative relationship first began in 2015 with the ACRONYM x Nike Lunar Force 1 collection, which featured an industrial-style zip on three interesting colourways for the AF1 Lunar model. This was followed in 2016 with the first Presto Mid collection, which featured similar zips as well as one colourful, and two olive-styled versions of the Presto. 





2017 saw the Nike Air Force 1 Downtown Collection which featured an elevated cut, perforation-free toe-boxes, zigzag stitching on the Swooshes, and quick-release German mil-spec fasteners around the ankles. While never stated, many believe this is where the inspiration for Nike’s mainline Special Field Air Force 1 was born. That same year Errolson was invited to join Virgil, Travis Scott, Don C and Kareem 'Biggs' Burke for a massive AF-100 Collection. The collection aimed to celebrate the Air Force 1 and its many varieties, with ACRONYM re-visiting the zip application, similar to the 2015 collab. 



 

But it wasn’t until 2018 that we saw the introduction of ACRONYM’s prints, similar to those seen in Stone Island’s Shadow Project, which Errolson is also the creative director of. The collection saw three VaporMax FK Moc 2 models covered in an interesting technical print. This was the first non-retro silhouette that Errolson worked on and, as such, was the first that he decided wasn't in need of a functional upgrade. Instead, he approached the collab as a 'visual project' and pushed the shoe to its extreme with aggressive camouflage inspired by the ACRONYM wordmark. The collection was accompanied by a high-concept marketing campaign including John Mayer that fused the wild west with futuristic ninjutsu.





 

That brings us right up to the 2018 Nike Air Presto pack that combines Errolson’s technical and visual updates of the past. The pack sees the same technical upgrade that was applied to the Air Presto in 2016, while also applying patterns and prints similar to those seen on the VaporMax earlier this year. Three unique prints and colourways, combined with the brand's technical DNA, makes the ACRONYM x Nike Air Presto Mid 2018 pack not worth sleeping on.