How Nike Crafted Winter's Coolest Blizzard-Ready Jacket

Nike ACG designer Errolson Hugh of Nike ACG breaks down the new collection, its design challenges, and John Mayer's obsession with tech-y outerwear.

Nike ACG is back with a brand new lineup to help you battle the elements this winter. The range, which stands for All Conditions Gear, got an overhaul two years ago from Errolson Hugh, the designer behind the hypebeast crowd-approved label Acronym. A decade ago, long before athleisure took hold of the fashion industry (and before dressing like you're en route to a spin class became acceptable outside of a spin class), Hugh pushed an aesthetic that put function first without sacrificing his overall aesthetic. He's brought that same precise, technical design philosophy, that's usually identifiable by a liberal use of zippers and pockets (a common critique of Acronym is that with so many storage compartments, losing ones phone and keys amidst the labyrinth of Gore-Tex is quite easy) to ACG. Especially today, his belief that clothes should protect one from the elements without limiting range of motion feels so obvious, you wonder why more brands haven't taken the consideration into account. We rang up Hugh to discuss his latest ACG collection (see the exclusive new look book below), his design process, and the celebrity client who buys three of everything.

This is now the 5th ACG collection you've worked on. How has it the process change or evolved since your first?
We definitely couldn't have done this any earlier. All of the stuff in the collection has progressed noticeably. We've taken the two years of experience of working with Nike, them working with us [at Acronym], and now we can create new fit blocks and prototypes to work with.

What's an example of something you wouldn't have been able to create two years ago that is in the current collection?
Definitely the Alpine Jacket. It's by far the most advanced expression of the ACG concept so far. Even with the work we had done before that [on jackets], it was still a solid three of four months of pattern making.

There are a lot of asymmetrical details in the collection. Was that difficult to achieve in the technical, Gore-Tex fabric?
Yeah because when you do asymmetry it has to look like it's not a gimmick. It also still has to have balance and there has to be a function behind it. In this jacket, the off-center zipper balances out the chest pocket and the way the panel is formed by the two zippers allows you to fold it down to vent. The way that connects to the funnel hood all came together after a number of prototypes.

Why put a blazer in such a technical collection?
Of course it's one of the most iconic menswear garments, and it's a little more formal. It has that universal appeal where you can wear it almost anywhere. That in addition to the fact that most blazers are the complete opposite side of the spectrum in terms of technical pieces makes it an interesting challenge for us. So we wanted ours still to convey the formality and dignity of a blazer, so we worked a lot on the fit block. We needed the right silhouette while making sure it didn't restrict you at all in terms of movement. The trick is that when you zip it up, it overlaps just enough to close at the neckline to give you actual protection. That together with the removable hood makes it basically a 3-layer Gore-Tex jacket.

How exactly do you go about testing prototypes during the design process?
Mainly it is a lot of fit tests. We'll make the pattern and sew it together in a different fabric that's just a super neutral fabric for fit testing. The first seven or eight of them aren't even in the actual material yet. They're just to see the volumes and how the mechanics work. You can see like, if a pocket needs to be two centimeters back or the zipper doesn't quite open where it's comfortable. What's that's done, we digitize the pattern, send it to Nike, then send it to their factory, and we get a sample back in the actual fabric. And in this case, we actually have to test it with Gore too in their rain tower, because Gore has the "guaranteed to keep you dry" thing. So they actually have a style approval process where they make sure your garment is actually waterproof. In general it's good because the more people who look at it, the more likely you are to catch any mistakes.

Your process seems so much different than any other fashion designer. Can you explain your design philosophy a little?
Our process is in a lot of ways reverse of most designers in that we won't actually do any drawings until the end of the process. We build the thing in 3D and prototype it first. And we draw the pockets on the body and sort of sculpt the body. Once that's done is when we draw it for the first time. It helps us because it means we're not drawing on things that don't work or just for the sake of looking cool. Looking cool is important too, but we also have to make sure it works.

Something I feel like people don't ask you enough about are your trouser designs. What's the idea behind this wider, cropped leg silhouette?
Trousers are the hardest thing to design. It's really, really hard to get the shape to work. And as a three-dimensional shape, pants are the most difficult shape to make. It has to look good when you're standing, but you also have to move in it and it has to look good then too. For ACG we developed two different volumes. There's the cargo which is the original ACG fit, and then there's the new woven and tech fleece pants which have a looser fit. And it's the same process with pants, where we start with the silhouette we like and then do all of the engineering to ensure there's no restriction of movement. In this case it has the drop crotch visual, but you can still take three steps at a time coming out of the subway or whatever.

What were some of the challenges of the woven pant specifically?
Mainly just getting it so that it kept its silhouette while you can move around in it. A low crotch like that actually diametrically works against movement so we had to use pretty much every trick in the book. Just try on any other drop crotch pants from another brand and you'll see the problem.

What about your pants separate them from others in the market?
It's all in the fit block. When you look at pants flat on the table, you can't see how it moves. So you have to try them on and move, and see where there needs to be more fabric, where there are weird bubbles being created, etc. By iterating over and over and over, you can get it right.

Another part of your designs in the modular nature of your garments, with detachable liners, hoods, panels, etc.? Where did you learn this type of design?
My brother is a software designer, and we worked out in L.A. for a few years. The way software designers make things is like in these little packets that can be plugged in to many different things. And the other part is just an economical thing. When I was growing up I couldn't afford to get everything, so it's more about getting the one thing you can wear over and over.

Do you think people buy too many clothes?
Yeah, definitely. I'm always about finding the thing that works for you and stick with it. Maybe spend a little more money or a lot more money instead of getting something cheaper for less that you're only going to wear once. It's better for the environment, for yourself, and for everyone.

Is the environmental impact of your designs something you're constantly thinking about, whether it's Acronym or ACG?
Absolutely. It will be a priority for everyone one way or another eventually and is going to bite us in the ass. But I always get asked the question, "Why are your [Acronym] jackets so expensive?" My question back is always, "Why is everything else so cheap?" Somebody is paying for it, even if it's not you, whether it's the kid in Bangladesh or the environment. If you're buying something from a fast fashion retailer that costs less than your lunch, you know none of those things have been looked at. I was actually pleasantly surprised by Nike at how stringent their supplier list is. We wanted to use a certain buckle at one point, and they said we couldn't. We asked why not, and they told us all of their suppliers have to be vetted. We asked them to vet it, but they told us it was going to take a year...

I've seen John Mayer wearing a lot of Acronym products in the past, and even the Acronym x Nike Prestos from earlier this year. Are you aware of how much he likes the brand?
It's really funny, actually. Back in the day, like ten years ago, I was working with the guys who owned Firmament [in Germany], and they got this huge order for Acronym stuff. And we were all, like, "Who is this guy? Who can afford to buy this much stuff at once?" And then we Googled it, and were like, "Oh, okay, yeah. He can afford it."

How much stuff did he buy?
Well, recently he's been doing a more Visvim thing, but, like, ten years ago up and until even five years ago, he was buying basically everything we did, and two or three of each piece in his size.

Two or three in each size?!
Yeah. It's funny, the first time I met him in London, we were at a concert and we went back stage. He opened up his tour box, and it was just, like, fifteen Acronym jackets. I was, like, damn, this guy has more stuff than I do.

Nike ACG's Holiday 2016 collection is available now at nike.com

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