Nike announced on Monday that it will resume its partnership with New York artist Tom Sachs, whose sought-after Nike sneaker collaborations were put on pause in 2023 after reports that depicted Sachs as a volatile, cruel boss who intentionally ran his studio like a cult. The brand said it’s reviewed its relationship with Sachs and decided to move forward with his collaborations.
“Tom has demonstrated and recommitted to fostering a culture of respect and inclusivity,” Nike said in a statement. “We can confirm that our work with Tom will continue and this next chapter of NikeCraft will uphold our shared passion for team, product, and storytelling excellence. More details to come in 2025.”
The sneaker brand provided a statement from Sachs.
“I’m honored that we will continue to build together as a NikeCraft team and community,” it reads. “The Mars Yard 3.0 is in its final stage of development and is currently being wear-tested. I’m excited to share more soon.”
The statements confirm that Nike and Tom Sachs will release the Mars Yard 3.0 next year. The brand sent Complex a teaser image featuring the inside tongue of a shoe with text identifying it as the Mars Yard 3.0.
The allegations against Sachs surfaced via Curbed, which published a story in March 2023 describing the environment at his studio, where Sachs was liable to scream and throw objects toward employees who did not meet his rigorous standards. The story alleged that Sachs appeared on a Zoom call with women from Nike wearing his underwear.
“We’re deeply concerned by the very serious allegations,” a Nike spokesperson told Complex after the Sachs story broke last year. “We’re in contact with Tom and his studio seeking to better understand this situation and how these issues are being addressed.”
Sachs sent an email to his studio employees the week after the Curbed story was published. In the email, he wrote that he’d brought in outside support to formalize the studio’s HR policies. Sachs expressed regret for his behavior while also defending himself against some of the claims made against him.
“I have never tried to make anyone feel uncomfortable,” the artist wrote. “I have never harassed anyone. I would never intentionally harm anyone.”
Sachs’ collaboration with Nike began in the early part of the last decade. He was connected to the brand through his friendship with former Nike CEO Mark Parker, who Sachs once interviewed for a magazine feature in 2009.
The artist released his first sneaker with Nike, the NikeCraft Mars Yard, in 2012. A sequel, the NikeCraft Mars Yard 2.0, arrived in 2017. While the first was a niche shoe, the second made Sachs a name in sneakerhead circles—the Mars Yard 2.0 is heralded as one of Nike’s best models from the 2010s and unworn pairs can fetch thousands of dollars on the secondary market. Nike and Sachs’ last model was the General Purpose Shoe, which debuted in 2022 and was Sachs’ most widely produced sneaker.
In the wake of the allegations against Sachs in 2023, Nike never confirmed that it was ending its work with him for good. Nike was at one point planning to release a Mars Yard 3.0 toward the end of 2023, but decided against releasing the shoe then while it assessed its relationship with Sachs. Nike told Complex in May 2023 that it was “not working with Tom’s studio at this time” and that there were “no release dates planned.”
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