Nike Football turned up the pace in Paris as the 2019 Women’s World Cup muscled into town with a powerful performance of swooshed up strength. Transforming the Place de la Bourse into a power house of sporting inspiration, Nike unveiled their first World Cup moves in statement style.
Through the pillars of the Place de la Bourse and into a palace of progression, Nike took over the French capital with a dominant display of World Cup unity in an event that showcased the kits of all 14 competing Nike National Teams. If this trip was leisure, every player that walked Nike’s catwalk of collective accomplishment this week will be returning in June purely for business.
With Virgil Abloh and Naomi Campbell taking their seats on the front row you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d walked into a Paris Fashion Week show. But this was a modernised show of sports innovation in both the physical and storytelling sense. When the lights dimmed and volume rose a number of Nike athletes marched through a maze of strobe lightening to take the stage in an eclectic mix of performance and lifestyle vibes, followed by a talent train of 28 International players, each wearing their new Nike home and away kits, paired up with the new Victory Pack football boots.
When Nike CEO Mark Parker pulls up a seat you know that Nike have thrown their entire power behind an activation, and this was more than just a product reveal party. This was Nike leading a fierce charge backed by the most powerful and successful women in sport. Athletes backing athletes, whatever their respective field, armed with enough history and trophies to furnish Le Louvre twice over. Olympic and World Champions were elevated above the assembled world media as the likes of Dina Asher-Smith, Caster Semenya and Zeina Nassar joined footballing talent in a united front with an inspirational stance.
Ready for the full roll out of kits? Here goes: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, England, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, USA. Done.