Nike Is No Longer Working With Tom Sachs’ Studio After Allegations Surface
Last year, Nike collaborated with American contemporary artist Tom Sachs on its ‘General Purpose Shoe’: an “ordinary shoe for extraordinary people” that can be used in “every possible scenario” of daily life.
However, it seems the partnership with Sachs’ studio has come to an abrupt end, despite rumors earlier this year that the duo’s Mars Yard 3.0—the third installation of a special sneaker launch that began over a decade ago—was scheduled to hit store shelves later this year.
According to a statement to Complex, a Nike spokesperson revealed that the sportswear giant was “not working with Tom’s studio” at the moment, and all upcoming release dates have been stalled or abandoned.
Tom Sachs x NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe "Summit White" pic.twitter.com/bS7napXyga
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) February 6, 2023
This decision appears to have stemmed from a recent report by Curbed that documented allegations of Sachs’ studio harboring a toxic work environment. The alarm was first sounded by an infamous “Art World Family” advertisement for a personal assistant that went viral.
In the listing, the job description entailed picking up clothes from “high-end stores,” dealing with all of the family’s “medical need requests,” looking after the “in-studio cats,” and even extending to “rooftop garden maintenance.”
After shocking allegations against Tom Sachs broke earlier this year, the creative has remained silent and out of the spotlight. Now rumours are swirling, alleging that the once celebrated creative has a Nike Mars Yard 3.0 in the works for this year… https://t.co/VRkhGYs0Gc pic.twitter.com/u1BauH1Swz
— Sneaker Freaker (@snkrfrkrmag) May 5, 2023
Soon, speculation arose that the couple who placed the advertisement was likely Tom Sachs and his wife, former Gagosian Director Sarah Hoover. Then, the floodgates opened. Stories of how the peculiar artist ran his studio like a “cult” surfaced, and the details were grim.
The article claimed employees were given manuals on how to behave when in the studio, including suggestions on how to approach Sachs about the day’s lunch and how to avoid “things that make Tom mad.”
Tom Sachs x NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe "Field Brown" 🤎 pic.twitter.com/1qG1JQGOqp
— Sneaker News (@SneakerNews) January 21, 2023
Worse still, former workers recalled the creative throwing around words such as “autistic,” “retarded,” and “bitch,” while forcing them to cough up monetary fines to a piggy bank ominously named ‘Leatherface.’
Following the scathing report, Nike released a statement that it was “deeply concerned by the very serious allegations,” and was in contact with the artist’s studio to “better understand this situation and how these issues are being addressed.”
It seems that any discussions that took place between the two parties didn’t work out, and it’s probably unlikely the fashion world will be seeing any more Nike x Tom Sachs releases any time in the near future.
