Martin Lotti, chief designer at Nike, visits the “Nike: Form Follows Motion” exhibition.
SRF
The Vitra Design Museum is currently highlighting the design history of Nike. And it is the Swiss Martin Lotti who works as head of design for the most famous sports brand in the world. Here’s how he went from fan to design boss.
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October 11, 2024 – 10:00
The very first Nike product he bought? The “Air Max 180” sneakers. And a poster of Michael Jordan. That’s all that Martin Lotti, 16, then a student and on an exchange program in the United States, could afford. For years, the poster hung above his bed.
Today, Martin Lotti is chief designer at Nike. In the meantime, he met Michael Jordan in person several times. He designed collections with him. “It was a surreal moment,” recalls Martin Lotti.
The Americans in Weil am Rhein
Nike is the world’s largest manufacturer of sporting goods. The company has an annual turnover of $50 billion. One of the reasons for Nike’s success is design.
He played a decisive role in sneaker culture as we know it today.
Nike is offering rare access to its private archives as part of the exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum.
Nike / Alastair Philip Wiper
This history of design is now highlighted by an exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. For this occasion, Martin Lotti came from the United States. For years, he has lived with his family in the state of Oregon.
The designer is little known in his country of origin. The Fribourgeois rarely gives interviews. He prefers to speak in English. “My Swiss German is rusty,” he admits, a little embarrassed.
Martin Lotti does not go unnoticed. Her outfit is overflowing with coolness. The white “Jordan” shirt, the oversized cargo pants, the sneakers – Nikes, of course. Even phrases like “trends are born at midnight” have a certain effect when they come from him. With him as ambassador, Nike could pass for a start-up. Something the billion-dollar company has long since ceased to be.
Goodbye Adidas and Puma
The story of Nike began with young graduate and college athlete Phil Knight. In the 1960s, he began distributing Japanese running shoes in the United States. It wants to compete with the German market leaders, Adidas and Puma.
Bill Bowerman is considered Nike’s first designer. He is here in his studio, in 1980.
Nike
Knight calls on his former coach, Bill Bowerman. The latter likes to tinker. He wants to make running shoes even lighter and faster.
In 1971, they founded Nike, named after the Greek goddess of victory. The beginnings are modest. Knight and Bowerman sell their shoes at track meets.
A world famous comma
From a design perspective, Nike’s centerpiece is its logo. For $35, graphic design student Carolyn Davidson designs the “swoosh” (the logo’s nickname in English). The simple curved line becomes a world-famous design.
The mission: to design a logo that reflects the movement. The project of Carolyn Davidson, graphic design student, was selected.
Nike
At first, the founder did not like this logo which nevertheless became so emblematic. “I don’t like it, but I’ll get used to it,” Phil Knight said.
Luck and chance play a role in both the rise of Nike and that of designer Martin Lotti.
How lucky that the founders still focused on the “swoosh”. And how lucky for Martin Lotti to have listened to “a girl”. It was she who advised him to do an internship at Nike after his industrial design studies. “I applied for an internship, but Nike directly offered me a job instead,” Martin Lotti said in a previous interview.
“I had never designed a shoe in my life,” says Martin Lotti. He would have been told: “Just do it!” “. The slogan therefore seems to apply even to the company’s staff.
The “daughter” is now Martin Lotti’s wife. She also works at Nike.
A little inspiration, please!
After 27 years in the company, Martin Lotti finds the same joy in designing shoes and clothing.
What inspires him? In the first place, it is female athletes. “I don’t ask myself ‘what am I going to draw today?’, but rather ‘what athlete’s problem am I going to solve today?’
He regularly organizes trips for his team: “We are inspired by nature or architecture. We observe everything. But in no case the shoes.” For what? “People tend to repeat what they see.”
The waffle iron, a source of ideas
What designs allowed Nike to break into the market? The oldest is the waffle sole. Coach Bill Bowerman designed the ribbed rubber sole at the breakfast table. Waffles inspired the structure. Without hesitation, he poured rubber into the waffle iron. The device unfortunately did not survive this test, but the successful sole was born from it. It made it possible to obtain better grip on the track.
Waffle sole sneakers sold like hotcakes. Seen here on a Nike advertising poster from 1978.
Nike
From a technological point of view, the “Air” sole was another important step. A sort of airbag in the sole helped absorb shock. But it was a new transparent design that made the shoe successful. The “Air Max” was born.
The most famous Nike model is the “Air Jordan” sneaker. In 1984, Nike launched it in collaboration with budding basketball player Michael Jordan.
The black and red basketball shoe violates the rules of the NBA, the American basketball league. Michael Jordan is fined every time he wears it. The shoe then becomes trendy off the field.
Shoes that do not comply with the regulations: the sanctions of the American basketball league NBA were a blessing for Nike. The company built an entire advertising campaign around the Air Jordan, which helped fuel the craze for the shoe.
GETTY IMAGES / FOCUS ON SPORT
Never a hitch?
The history of Nike design at times resembles that American dream, where you go from a garage to the Olympus of sport through hard work.
But failures also exist at Nike. They are simply reinterpreted thanks to good storytelling. The marketing budget for this is gigantic.
A different kind of treasure hunt
When he designs a shoe, Martin Lotti often takes the opportunity to hide very personal treasures inside.
For example, he hid a Swiss cross in the sole of the “Nike Kyoto”. In the “Air Max 360”, he immortalized his son’s date of birth in the heel tab using dots and lines.
“Details that no one notices. But they mean a lot to me,” says the head of design.
In 2006, Martin Lotti presented his “Air Max 360” in New York. He hid a wink to his son there.
REUTERS / KEITH BEDFORD
On the inside of the Brazilian national football team’s jersey, he had the team’s mantra: “born to play football” embroidered.
For Martin Lotti, “the jersey has thus gained soul”.
They are also good stories that sell. However, Martin Lotti’s playful side is authentic: “Design is more than a job, it’s my passion.”
L’exposition «Nike: Form Follows Motion»
The exhibition shows how Nike products have evolved over the years and how the sports brand has influenced society.
It is on view until May 4, 2025 at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein.
Translated from German by Emilie Ridard
