Visual Merchandising

The Nike Airmax 90 has hundreds of colourways and has been the centre of countless designer and artist collaborations. Nike have produced an article highlighting some of their most memorable and favourable Airmax 90 collaborations, ahead of the 35 year anniversary of the shoe for S/S 25.

I created a questionnaire for people to complete so I could gain an insight into their opinions, spending habits and overall experience when shopping Nike.

From the responses I received, I found that:

Most Nike shoppers were between the ages of 18 - 24

Most Nike shoppers who took part were women

Nike & Adidas tied with the most responses for ‘favourite brand for shopping shoes, and or activewear’

100% of people had heard of the brand Nike before

100% of people had shopped Nike before & had a good experience doing so

94.7% of people would shop Nike again

57.9% of people shopped Nike in-store

73.7% of people bought solely footwear from Nike

58.8% of people purchased their Nike products through JD Sports, while only 11.8% bought directly through Nike.

This Window Display by fashion brand Guess, labelled ‘Day to Night’ has sparked inspiration for my own window display. I would love to create a display that can showcase Nike products/ advertisements both throughout the day & during the night.

From my research I have found that many shoppers do not actually go into stores and make purchases from the impact of a window display, they rather browse the windows and admire the displays. This idea inspires me to produce a window display for Nike with dual sides or varying presentation to demonstrate how my store window would look over a 24 hour period.

Below is an article which documents the most sought after Nike sneakers in the ‘sneakerhead community’. ‘Sneakerheads’ are customers who find an obsession in buying, wearing and collecting rare and unusual sports and training shoes. Although the list below does not feature the Nike Airmax 90, it focus’ more on the Nike Air Jordan 1 and its countless unique and rare designs - usually created in collaboration with another fashion or lifestyle brand. These shoes have inspired me greatly when it comes to colours and motifs I would consider including in my window display.

Particularly, the bright and playful colours of the ‘Grateful Dead Nike SB Dunk’ and the ‘J Balvin X Nike Air Jordan 1’ inspire me the most. Their loud and chaotic colour combinations seem somewhat reminiscent of the 1990’s in the flamboyant and animated designs - I would love to pay homage to the 90’s through my window display, almost creating a time warp to transport the customer back to the years of the first Nike Airmax release. Shades of burning orange and neon green are used throughout these shoe designs, and can also be found through the research I conducted on colour trends for S/S 25. I will definitely consider including these tones in my window display.

In the last 12 months, as Nike’ exponential brand success continues, a docu-drama movie was released in cinemas titled ‘Air’. Directed by Matt Damon, ‘Air’ tells the story of how the Nike business start up, strugggles, triumphs, and how the Nike Air Jordan 1 came into fruition - eventually becoming one of the most popular style of Nike shoe sold today.

Although this movie does not dissect the shoe I am most inspired by for S/S 25, the Airmax 90, this movie is produced to the highest standard and extremely insightful into the design and business world of Nike in the early 1980’s.

Watch the trailer here:

Various websites and companies have posted online detailing the importance of window displays in store, and the key features needed to create a successful one. Linked below is a perfectly written article on the composition, storytelling and trend conscious advertisement in which a window display should maintain. I will heavily refer to this and many other sites similar, when creating my own Nike window display.

Nike products are stocked and sold in 170 countries worldwide, with over 1,000 retail store globally. There is however only 1 store in the UK, NikeTown, Nike’s flagship store on Oxford St, London. Nike is mainly sold through other sports and lifestyle retailers such as Sports Direct, Footlocker & ‘size?’, while Nikes main retailer in Britain is JD Sports.

Being stocked in so many varying retail and department stores across the country shows Nike’ versatility within fashion, and highlights their undeniable success in stretching across all markets & customer bases.

Nike is also sold at a discounted rate in clearance stores, selling older models, labelled Nike Factory Store’s.

I thought it would be wise to research into the Window Displays of the stores that stock Nike, as my online research was limited on the NikeTown store in London. It is very interesting to see how different retailers advertise Nike & other sporting products through the use of window displays.

Take a look at the history of Nike and its various shoe models released from as early as 1990 to the present day. Footasylum is a sportswear store that stocks Nike, among many other athletic brands, and they have noted this educational timeline of the Nike Airmax line simply and successfully. 👇

Researching the predicted colour trends in fashion for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2025 season, I have found the bright and bold colours will be making their usual return for the warmer months, married cleverly with neutral grey and earth tones we would usually see around A/W.

From the sites I have linked, it is clear there will be a surge in popularity for varying shades of green; bright lime and pale creamy sage feature heavily on these trend forecasting pages, along with soft pastels and loud neons stealing the spotlight for S/S 25. No doubt, Nike is well aware of these trending colours and will incorporate them into their products, and I aim to do the same when constructing my own Window Display for Nike.

Here I have linked an article from Vogue highlighting the key fashion trends predicted for Spring/Summer 2025. Resources and forecasting such as this may impact my window display, as I will take into consideration current fashion trends, aswell as colours, prints and fabrics.

Linked below is images from inside Nike’ flagship store on Oxford St in London - specifically from a recent campaign of theirs titled, ‘Keep Running’.

These images show the futuristic and tech based approach that Nike continues to demonstrate throughout their stores, displays & products alike. Lots of bright fluorescent lighting and mannequins in sports poses allude to Nike’ brand identity and surely appeal to their customer base.

World Famous Britpop band Oasis is set to return to stages in Summer of 2025! This announcement shocked the country as brother Liam and Noel Gallagher reunite after over a decade long feud causing the lead vocalist & guitars duo to go their separate ways into solo careers.

Oasis’ insane success in the 1990’s and early 2000’s left an undeniable mark on Britain, and their return is highly anticipated. Will the return of Oasis this year reignite the nations love for 90’s and early noughties fashion?

National Airmax Day is celebrated ever since 2014 - on the March 26th. National Airmax Day dates back to March 26th of 1987, when the very first Nike Airmax show was released: the Airmax III.

As the shoe rose astronomically in popularity, breaking the mould from sportswear into the mainstream, ready-to-wear, Nike rereleased the Nike Airmax III as the famous Airmax 90, a classic silhouette that consumers have come to know and love worldwide. National Airmax Day was officially coined in the year 2014, as the shoes popularity and Nike’ success continues over the decades.

Spring / Summer 2025 celebrates the 35 year anniversary of the Airmax 90, released in 1990, which is still available and widely popular today.

Attached, is a concise website detailing the different types of window displays used in store when showcasing products, and their importance in sales and advertising.