Wilson Smith news and archive

The unexpected challenge sneaker design students face today: "They need to know so much"

When Wilson Smith III, former Design Director at Nike Footwear, left the sportswear giant in January 2025 after an impressive 41-year tenure, he was struck with an immediate and unexpected realization: "How do I present myself or connect myself to the world now?" During his four-decade career at Nike, the company's PR and communications team had...

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Fashion |Interview

Wilson Smith & Tate Kuerbis, and the rise of sneakers as cultural currency

Close your eyes and try to picture this scene. It’s 1986, at Nike head office in Washington County, Oregon and architect Wilson Smith III, who has been working with Nike as a showroom, store and corporate office designer has just been asked if he can come to the back room for a talk. “I went in expecting the worst,” he recalls to FashionUnited...