“Nike has become…‘a consumer product that somehow appears to challenge the idea of consumerism.” This phrase strikes at the heart of Nike’s success. My own loyalty to Nike over the years attests to how I too have fallen for the illusion. But it is still puzzling to ask, how does a brand become part and parcel of a culture or even generate its own?

In China we are in some ways separated from Nike pop culture. My classmates, part of a younger generation, do not remember the iconic moments in sports history that Spike Lee nostalgically reminisces on in Nike’s 50th anniversary video or follow the captains of American sports teams that Zimmie retorts with. They wear Lebron James 18s down the hallway because they are a status marker. They know that Lebron James is the greatest basketball player and that they are simply expensive, without ever watching James’ games. Does that mean that the consumerist culture to which Nike also undeniably owes its empire actually precedes the pop culture it would rather celebrate on its 50th anniversary?

When products are limited to an elite, this severs them from the popular culture that sustains our loyalty. Like some of the kids in my high school who wear Lebron James’ brand without knowing his greatest moments, Nike can’t have it both ways. It can’t partner with Louis Vuitton and lay claims to stories of the underdog. Those stories make us love the people who wear them, not the brand.

07.06.2022

Suzhou