Nike 6.0 Women’s Collection

When you think of extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing your mind instantly runs over a course of slightly insane and wild … boys. It is only later that we contemplate the existence of girls within these sporting realms. Nike have not only sourced out the best and the loveliest girls from the snowboarding and surfing divisions but are getting behind them and giving them performance support. For Nike, it is important for them to showcase the talents of these athletes but to also show the world their softer side, their female side within a ‘boys’ sport.

We visited the Nike campus a week back to meet these wonderful ladies, Monyca Byrne-Wickey; a surfing goddess, the very cool snowboarder; Ellery Hollingsworth and surfer Carissa Moore, of whom was actually busy competing at the Australian World Tour! (she won her last event too!) All of which have been very much part of the designing processes from the very beginning of their new Nike 6.0 Women’s Collection.

The collection, consisting of all new model sneakers, after-performance gear for the girls, lots of ‘boyfriend’ styled tees and sweaters, each incorporating some high-tech Nike ‘DNA’ details such as hidden zips, toggles and dry-fit fabrics, like streetwear for the athletes once they had come off the mountain or from the ocean. All was presented in the cutest showroom which they had decorated as a cross between a ski chalet and surf shack! All very girly xx Lamps, rugs, books, cameras and paintings. The designers and the girls talked us through the collection accenting their favorite pieces, for example…

Monyca loves her ‘tee shirt for your legs pants’.. (you can just imagine!), made from a re-formulated dry-fit fabric which is an oh-so soft and drapey, organic cotton which she immediately puts on after her surf, they are extremely comfortable and fit just right, the waistband has a wide fold down or up feature too so you can make them your won and wear them at your own ease. Easily packable, lightweight and doesn’t wrinkle making it the perfect road trip companion. Done. Thats what we’re wearing after we surf from now on too…

And Ellery, nicknamed Elle, loves her personally designed MSIXO anorak with a soft hoodie as the liner which you can take out in the warmer weather too. It has a water resistant coating which keeps Ellery dry and warm on the slopes and has a longer length so her back doesn’t collect any cold snow while she is on the mountain. The twill utility jacket shell features an adjustable waist, snap cuffs and a 2-way front zip. The jacket also incorporates Nike Grind trim made of recycled rubber to deliver an earth-friendly jacket you can wear 3 ways in any weather.

Their look book was shot by supermodel and fashion experienced Helena Christiansen who immediately bonded with the girls and brought out sides of them that were previously never seen by anyone other than their best friends. It’s very fun and relaxed, capturing the girls in their family homes and home towns, settings with friends and family and of course, their boards.

My favorite pieces were the ‘Air Isis’ sneakers, lightweight, half way between a mid cut and low cut shoe, block colored and they had that cool techy-running shoe look which I love right now. The little bloomer shorts! Made from a striped flannel, they mimic a boys boxer short pattern and have a comfy drawstring too. You can slightly see these in the top image. The velvet dunks were pretty crazy too- a girly crushed-velvet on a boyish sneaker- also available in an acid-wash red with floral laces xx

The girls talked about their home and family influence on their sports, Ellery followed her older brothers everywhere which finally lead to her onto the mountains snowboarding and trying to keep up- given a few years and they were racing to catch up with her. Monyca grew up a tom boy in Hana, Maui, of which she describes as a “mystical place” and LOVES going home whenever she can. “It has two stores, one hotel and one expensive gas station”, but it is “real safe and comfortable”. Her older sister was a cool surfer and her boy friends were too, so naturally she wanted in. She said she needed to work harder than the boys in order to improve which gave her her competitiveness!

Both girls get to travel the world but both agree, “there’s no place like home for me”. Traveling has opened their eyes and makes them so very grateful for where they are from, they have grown a huge respect for their friends and family and it certainly makes them grow up fast!

Commenting on their involvement with the design at Nike for their very own personalized collections, the girls add, “We are honored to be part of this with Nike, we got a blank notebook and were asked to write and draw what we wanted to wear. We brought in our favorite pieces from home and they somehow managed to create one line of stuff for both of our needs. We have learned so much, about our own styles and designing, it was such a buzz to see it all come to life!”.

I think their words that struck with me most were “we normally have to wear boys clothes in smaller sizes while we’re training or competing or actually even on the streets, they never fit right and they are definitely not flattering! You know, us girls still want to look cute while we action sport! We want to feel good about what we are wearing!” And this is exactly what Nike had set out to achieve, to put a focus on these girls and give them their own collections for their personal needs as well as their sporting requirements. At the same time, giving the girls a feminine side and letting them be women of great achievement.

By the look on the girls faces in that room, I’d be pretty confident to say that Nike has achieved exactly that.

Watch this beautifully shot video of the girls in action and their personal thoughts on their collection.