In October 2010, Nike and Jun Takahashi, founder and head designer of Japan’s coveted clothing label Undercover, will release the first Nike x Undercover Gyakusou performance running collection at selected retailers globally.

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The design partnership fuses cutting edge Nike running innovations and design with the functionality of Takahashi’s Undercover—whose dedication to a less-but-better design philosophy mirrors Nike founder Bill Bowerman’s passion for the athletic benefits of minimalism. It amplifies levels of technical precision and intuitive function, delivering a unique and modern perspective on running by runners.

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Gyakusou takes its name from a small but highly dedicated group of Tokyo-based runners—including Takahashi. The name Gyakusou comes from ‘gyaku’ meaning wrong way or reverse and ‘sou’ meaning ‘run or running’—a reference to the group running counter-clockwise while the rest of Tokyo’s runners run clockwise in the city’s parks.

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The Gyakusou collection translates Nike’s performance design language by expanding on core appeal with products that deliver innovative, lightweight, waterproof, breathable fabrics and moisture management. This offered Takahashi new challenges and opportunities. «With Undercover we’ve utilized high-tech fabrics before, but through our design partnership with Nike, we were able to create a functional collection that uses cutting edge sporting innovations,» says Takahashi.

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For the inaugural Fall/Holiday 10 collection, Nike and Takahashi also focused on colors. Wanting to provide an alternative to traditional running neons and brights, the result sees subtle colors that Takahashi describes “reflect a harmony with nature” fused with reflective safety details and a recurring red trim inspired by the artery vein — part of performance’s physical foundations.

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