Nike may not do couture (yet), but it stole the show at Paris Haute Couture Week by hosting its own performance show choreographed by Parris Goebel and titled “Goddess Awakened”.
This year, Nike has been pouring its biggest investment ever into women. From the recent Phantom Luna Boot to its redesigned football jerseys which will be born at this year’s Women’s Football World Cup, Nike has been putting her at the centre of everything, listening to her needs and wants, optimising her comfort and safety, and most importantly, making her feel good.
The latest instalment presented by Nike Women came in the form of a fashion and performance show hybrid, and if you needed any confirmation on the clothing and footwear’s quality, durability, comfort and, let’s say it, style, this was it.
The show Goddess Awakened, which lasted over 40 minutes, was choreographed by New Zealand-born dancer and choreographer Parris Goebel. In case you’re unfamiliar with Goebel’s work, she was the one behind Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show, as well as her Fenty fashion shows, and has worked with the likes of J-Lo, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande and Normani. Not only has Goebel worked with some of the most culturally influential women, she herself is a force to be reckoned with.
Since it’s both Nike and Goebel, the expectations were high and honestly, we were served a non-stop energy, dynamic and entertaining show. Divided into 13 scenes, Goddess Awakened explored so many facets of womanhood, from the tight-knit, almost sister-like bond we make with friends along the way to the breaking free of societal norms in becoming a strong, confident, independent and powerful woman who is comfortable in her own skin.
The show kickstarted with a classic warm up: dancers were running on treadmills, stretching their muscles, before high-energy electronic sounds accompanied them into breakdancing. There were flips, lifts, a whole load of kicks, fencing and voguing (yes, at the same time) and Cabaret-style chair dancing accompanied by some familiar sounds like M.I.A.’s Bad Girls and Frank Ocean’s Nikes – had to be done – as well as the loud and supportive cheering of the crowd. Honestly, it was wild.
The dancers blew everyone away, but what we also had our eyes on were the clothes of course. We got to see a group of dancers give it their all in the new Martine Rose x Nike Shox Mule heels sneakers hybrid. There were also collaborative pieces with Martine Rose, including the four-sleeved trench, Jacquemus, Feng Chen Wang and some unreleased pieces with Yoon Ahn’s AMBUSH, including a pair of Uptempos and and a co-branded red, yellow, blue and black jacket.
Speaking with Liz Weldon, Vice President of Global Women’s Brand Management at Nike, before the show, she told us “This is a moment for us to usher in the next era of Nike women” and that the show’s purpose is to “reimagine the goddess of Nike. We want to awaken everyone’s inner Goddess”. And that it sure did.
More on Culted
See: Martine Rose is dressing everyone for the Women’s Football World Cup with Nike
See: Nike is revolutionising women’s football with its Phantom Luna Boot
