Whilst out and about with the boyfriend t’other day, he started harping on about this Nike shop he wanted to visit. I was reluctant, seeing as these visits normally see me slouched, bored on a neon pouf (it’s always a neon pouf) waiting for him to decide over light or dark blue dunks. However this one turned out to actually be pretty interesting, so much so that I decided to make it into a post.
So nestled under a railway bridge in the heart of uber cool Shoreditch is the 1948 Nike store, or retail space, if you will. It’s a shop selling the latest Nike collaborations and limited editions, but it’s also a gallery, event space and sports club (it has its own running club that convenes here weekly).
So while said boyfriend was drooling over some brightly coloured sportswear, I was checking out the ‘space’ itself.
The industrial interior is a fusion of bare brick and new corrugated metallic sheets, giving the place that whole urban feel, and there are floor to ceiling digital screens showing a film called ‘Live for London’ by up and coming film maker Tyrone Lebon (the very same cool dude that did the Topshop Trends film.)
That fantastic artwork is the produce of genius graffiti duo BestEver. And you may have noticed there’s a bit of a theme going on… well, this was around the time Wimbledon was on, hence… tennis. I learnt though, that the aesthetics of the place will constantly be changing to reflect various sporting events. The screens too, will also show things like football matches.
Other features include some funky bleachers and also a mezzanine area with magazines (including LOVE) to read, ipads on which to check out the 1948 Nike app and a meeting table to, er, hold meetings at… No, people do genuinely hold meetings here. You’re actually actively encouraged to come up to this bit and chill out. It’s great! We’ve come a long way since the days of being barked at in newsagents for flicking through the magazines…
Also check out John McEnroe’s and Maria Sharapova’s ‘canned air’, as per the old ad.
All in all, a great little place. Fun, even if you’re not a hardcore urbanite, like me.
fashion bratt 
