ICONS — Virgil Abloh x Nike: The Ten

From Air Jordan 1 to Air Presto, Virgil Abloh’s collaboration with Nike—The Ten—reimagined sneaker culture from the inside out. ICONS documents that shift, revealing the engineering ingenuity and investigative design process behind each pair: part industrial design, part ready-made sculpture. Expect process sketches, material studies, typography notes, and behind-the-scenes photography that trace how classics were deconstructed and rebuilt for a new generation.

In signature fashion, the book’s open-spine (exposed) binding nods to Abloh’s design philosophy—honoring transparency, function, and the beauty of construction.

Why you’ll love it

• Definitive archive: A deep dive into The Ten with process imagery, prototypes, and design notes

• Design + culture in dialogue: How branding, typography, materials, and storytelling shaped modern sneakers

• Collector appeal: A statement object with open-spine binding that lays flat for easy viewing

• For makers & fans: Inspiring for designers, sneakerheads, and anyone curious about how icons are made

Inside

• Development timelines and concept iterations

• Close-ups of materials, labeling, and signature quotation-mark details

• Commentary on collaboration, remix culture, and the lineage of the Swoosh

• Photo essays charting the impact of The Ten across fashion, sport, and art

Pair it with

• Display on a coffee table with a candle from Candles

• Explore more design reads in Books