Out of all the Swoosh’s sub-labels, its Nike ACG line is one of the oldest, yet somehow one of the most slept-on. There’ve been reasons for that: sometimes the line known as All Conditions Gear has lost its way, or gotten lost in the shuffle. But more often than not, the Nike line created in the ’80s to bring cutting-edge design to the great outdoors has been a steady source of bangers, even for the forest-averse. And that’s absolutely the case right now.
ACG formally arrived in 1989 after a pair of now-iconic mountain-ready sneaker-boot hybrids, the Lava Dome and Air Approach, broke big, telling Nike that there was gold in the outdoor world. That fist decade was ACG’s golden era, and the source of a million modern-day eBay alerts for neon-splashed, hard-wearing shoes like the Air Mowabb, Air Mada, Air Moc, Air Revaderchi, and the ACG Dog Mountain. ACG was gorpcore before “gorpcore” was a word.
ACG’s momentum slowed down into the 2000s, diluted and lagging behind Nike’s focus on basketball and running, until the sub-label tapped Errolson Hugh, the co-founder of Berlin-based goth-tech label ACRONYM. Hugh reimagined ACG with a cyberpunk flair built around ample use of Gore-Tex, angled pockets, and more zippers than a Levi’s factory. It looked like what Batman would wear if Gotham had been inspired by Seattle instead of NYC.
After Hugh left, ACG fell into a bit of a funk, but lately I’ve been seeing more hits than misses, even if the line is a little all over the place. Even as the competition’s gotten heavier, as outdoor brands legendary and new battle for your closet space, ACG’s still delivering. The best pieces nail the label’s signature color-blocking, modular layering, and futuristic silhouettes, merging outdoor performance with everyday wear at very add-to-cart prices. Need more proof? Shop a few of my favorite ACG hits immediately below.
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