As dramatic as Melitta Baumeister’s designs can be, she believes that most are suited for an active city life and proves it by wearing her own dresses and caps wherever she goes, even on a bicycle. Jogging is another of the designer’s preferred means of locomotion. Now in partnership with Nike, who supported her first runway show, Baumeister has given a distinctive twist to the brand’s Vomero Premium. “It’s the first Nike performance shoe that has been reenvisioned by a collaborator,” she explained. Baumeister’s version of the platform-soled sneaker comes in orange, which features in her most recent collection, overlaid with black. The technique she employs to create her shadow denims was used on the shoes.
Baumeister introduced her Nike Vomero Premium via an immersive experience in the Chelsea Art District, that had visitors led by a guide, Patricia Black, through a series of rooms that revealed unexpected scenarios, such as a woman carving butter and another nestled in bed watching inspirational sports videos. Occupying the final room were women of many ages and types who Baumeister imagined wearing her shoes. These included ladies who drink coffee (rather than do lunch), an athlete, a would-be influencer, a new mother, and the like. “Movement allows us to see the world in a different color,” noted Black. “Run fast, run fashionably slow, run at your own pace.” Baumeister created an adventure that reworked Nike’s famous slogan; the message: Just do it your way.
Can you explain all the ways you have made the Nike Vomero Premium your own?
There are eyes printed on the shoe sole. The insole has a footprint stain that says on the left foot Think and on the right foot Outside. I like the play here with thinking of the outside but also “thinking outside (the box)”—thinking creatively.
There is a lenticular patch on the tongue that has an eye that closes and opens and with the MB Swoosh Logo; and our print, Run like no one is watching, appears on the shoe laces.
The inside of the tongue has a graphic hand that displays the model of the shoe, highlighting that this shoe has been painted by hand as a post-process at the factory. With the painting as post-application I loved how the shoe color becomes in a way three-dimensional.
Do you run?
I run, but I run slow. I don’t have goals of how much to run, my goals are just to keep moving…. Running is really something I want to do for myself. I do not want to work towards a hero image of a certain mile count, I want to run freely and playfully.
How did you come up with that genius tagline?
I was running one morning and it was one of the days I wasn’t too comfortable getting in spandex to run; I had just picked up running again and I was quite self-conscious about it. That week we were just reviewing ideas for this shoe and I just loved how this wordplay described that motivation I needed. To run freely as you are, without an expectation of what you should be achieving.
Do you think fashion people are especially concerned with how they dress when working out?
I think so. If you are somebody that thinks about ways of dressing, putting yourself in spandex and seeing yourself in a look or ‘identity’ of a pro runner, can feel off if you don’t feel like one.
What is the value you put on movement?
Movement has always been essential in my daily and creative life, but finding the time and motivation while running a growing business has become a bigger challenge than running faster or further. Knowing that this is the reality of most of my customers, it was a good starting point. What I love about running is the way it changes your perception of time and space. It is like exploring familiar surroundings in a new way. Places start connecting to thoughts, which then become memories, and the rhythm is in your body not the stopwatch. Running is a powerful tool for creativity.
