“I have a personal interest in popular culture and the influence of culture on the consumer landscape,” says Parker.
It’s estimated that only 20 percent of the trainers it sells are ever used for any form of exercise, and HTM is astutely aware that much of its success relies on its ability to penetrate popular culture as well as sports. “It’s more challenging to take things out and only wind up with that which you really need.” The truth that very few of Nike’s meticulously engineered products will ever be used in the sporting arena isn’t overlooked by its designers. “People think you need to add more things to create value,” he says.
Having such an inclination to collect and surround himself with culturally significant memorabilia, Parker is not a minimalist, but reductive design is paramount for HTM. The coffee table between us was covered with HTM limited-edition models.
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Seated in his corner office, which is a dense and vividly colorful cabinet of curiosities – including an eerie bust of Abraham Lincoln moulded from a life mask, an astronaut’s manual from an Apollo mission, and one of Jimi Hendrix’s guitars – Parker continued, “Even people that have no experience in terms of what we do can come in with a completely fresh mind-set.” Seated opposite Parker was Tinker Hatfield, VP of Creative Concepts, and the man behind many Nike classics, including several Air Jordans and the Air Max 1. “Because everything seems to influence everything else.” Parker was explaining why Nike collaborates with so many diverse talents, including athletes, technologists, designers, and artists. It’s not just about sneakers: “The role of design at a company is to allow you to recreate yourself,” Nike CEO Mark Parker explains, immersed in his Pop shrine disguised as an executive office. On a pristine day in August I traveled to Nike’s headquarters to discuss the collaboration, its methods, and impact on the company and footwear design. Parker describes HTM as the company’s enema, and he believes it has the potential to change everything. HTM is an unusual collaboration: it resides within a $26-billion company yet it operates without deadlines or budget constraints and is guided solely by the interests of its three members. HTM takes its initials from the first names of its members, and was formed in 2002 under the broad mission “to amplify new innovations, reinterpret existing designs, and explore concepts that take the brand to new places.” To date the trio has launched 17 widely varied limited-edition shoes. So how does Nike avoid this, and continue growth in a meaningful and relevant way? The answer is HTM, a three-person design collaboration between designer Tinker Hatfield, creative consultant Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Parker himself, that functions as Nike’s core R&D team. Yet Parker is anything but complacent: “One of my fears is being this big, slow, constipated, bureaucratic company that’s happy with its success,” he explained. Newsweek once said Nike had incited a “new religion of brand consciousness,” while The Los Angeles Times claimed that the company was “so much a part of everyday culture in so many countries it’s frightening.” Since Mark Parker became CEO in 2006, Nike’s annual revenue is up 60 percent, profits have increased 57 percent, and its market cap has more than doubled. is a multinational corporation based in Beaverton, Oregon, that employs more than 44,000 individuals in more than 160 countries. How does Nike avoid being a victim of its own success? The answer is HTM, a three-person design collaboration between CEO MARK PARKER, designer TINKER HATFIELD, and creative consultant HIROSHI FUJIWARA.
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