However, since I know Jarrett personally, it was more like working among friends. And to let you know, there wasn’t any so called “contractual agreement” or signed documentation to start our project with Nike. The respect that they showed me was enough to say, “Yes”.

Nike’s NSW collection is very much about making something old, new again.  What takes something beyond the status of merely “old” and into the realm of “traditional” and “classic”?

An item or product that carries universal qualities, along with bold brand concept, is suitable in any era. The difference is it also must be accepted among the generation. This is what I considered to be defined as classic or traditional.

Was there a lot of digging into Nike’s apparel archives? How did you choose the pieces you created?

In April 2007, I was invited to Nike World Headquarters in Portland, Oregon for about a week or so. They showed me around their restricted archive room, where only a few have access. By seeing their products from the past and marketing concepts with my own eyes, I recalled my own experience with Nike products as a child. Fusing those memories with what I saw at Nike’s archival brought me new appreciation for their design identity. From the experience, I was sure I could deliver what Nike wanted. We had to re-construct the given style and re-designing within our design concept.

Sportswear made with this sophistication and quality blurs the lines between high and low fashion.  What label would you create for this selection?

I think that NSW was made possible because we have similar philosophy and have the same goals. So I don’t want to create a “label” or any other characterization on it.

Did you enjoy the collaborative process and will you be doing them with any other brands?

It was fantastic, a pleasure to work with people from Nike.  The mutual respect we have for each other’s products made it even better. There were times when it led to unexpected results.  But this too can great during the design process in creating something new. Focusing on the same issues doesn’t necessary mean we will all have the same answers. However, sharing our opinions resolved many issues. From the beginning of the NSW project, Jarrett and Richard were aiming to create the world’s best sweatshirts, something that has never been produced before. So it took some times and efforts to jot down all of our opinions and concerns. However, I had the task to select the best results by using my intuition. Any choice a person makes is the sign he or she is taking responsibility.