Nike is setting a new pace for performance by uniting its Innovation, Design, and Product teams from Nike, Jordan Brand, and Converse under a single structure. The initiative, part of NIKE, Inc.’s Sport Offense, creates an integrated system focused on developing products that help athletes perform faster, longer, and more efficiently. This transformation enables shared research, technology, and design processes, connecting every step of innovation under one creation engine.
Phil McCartney, Chief Innovation, Design and Product Officer, describes the mission as a tribute to co-founder Bill Bowerman’s inventive mindset and a continuation of Kobe Bryant’s challenge to “create epic s— and make athletes better.” He emphasizes that each project begins with the athlete’s needs, their goals, their focus, and their obstacles. “By uniting our creation organization across Nike, Jordan, and Converse, we’re accelerating progress and fully leveraging our strengths to deliver epic products that make athletes better,” McCartney says.
Aero-FIT: Performance Apparel Built for Extreme Heat
Aero-FIT debuts as Nike’s pinnacle cooling innovation, designed to channel twice the airflow of previous performance apparel. Created for athletes competing in high heat and humidity, the system moves air between skin and fabric to increase sweating efficiency and keep the body dry during peak performance. It will make its global debut during football’s largest event in 2026 before extending to other categories.
The innovation is Nike’s first elite performance apparel made entirely from textile waste, a breakthrough achieved through advanced chemical recycling that creates recycled polyester equal in quality to virgin fiber. Designers used motion and heat mapping to place elliptical mesh zones in high-heat areas, each acting as a visual and functional airflow channel. Hundreds of athletes tested the garments under varied conditions, validating both comfort and cooling efficiency. Janett Nichol, VP of Apparel & Advanced Digital Creation Studio Innovation, calls Aero-FIT “the future of our apparel innovation in both elite performance and sustainability at scale.”
Therma-FIT Air Milano: Adaptive Warmth Through Air Technology
Air Milano introduces Nike’s most advanced outerwear, powered by A.I.R. (Adapt. Inflate. Regulate.) Technology. Combining Air innovation with computational design, the jacket allows athletes to adjust insulation in real time, inflating or deflating internal air channels to regulate temperature. The lightweight garment can shift from the warmth of a hoodie to a mid-weight puffer, offering personalized control during competition or rest.
Built from a new composite laminate that is both durable and soft to the touch, Air Milano represents a new sensory experience in performance apparel. Team USA athletes will wear the jacket at the medal ceremonies in Milan, where the design will debut with custom ACG pumps and graphics inspired by the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.
Over 380 hours of field testing in Colorado shaped the final construction. Athletes ran, cycled, and skied through variable weather to confirm the jacket’s function. “Air Milano shows Nike at its best, blending athlete science and data-driven design to create responsive garments that drive performance,” says Danielle Kayembe, Product Innovation Management Expert.
Nike Mind: The Neuroscience of Focus and Recovery
Nike Mind introduces a new category of performance footwear based on neuroscience. The Mind 001 mule and Mind 002 sneaker use underfoot sensory activation to help athletes reach calm focus before and after competition. Each shoe contains 22 independent foam nodes bonded to a flexible, water-resistant surface that reacts to movement like a network of pistons, simulating the feel of ground texture and stimulating key sensory receptors in the brain.
Developed over a decade, this project marks the first innovation from the Nike Mind Science Department within the Nike Sport Research Lab. Using one of the few mobile brain and body imaging labs in the world, the department’s neuroscientists measure how perception and attention shape performance. Nike athlete Erling Haaland tested the footwear, describing how the shoes help him balance focus during matches. “Every step I take, I think of the shoe and what I feel in my feet, it brings balance to my game,” Haaland says.
Dr. Matthew Nurse, Nike’s Chief Science Officer, notes that the company’s studies now extend from the physical to the cognitive. “By studying perception, attention, and sensory feedback, we’re tapping into the brain-body connection in new ways,” he explains. The Mind 001 and Mind 002 arrive in January 2026 through nike.com and select retailers.
Project Amplify: Powered Footwear for Everyday Athletes
Project Amplify marks Nike’s entry into powered motion technology. Developed with robotics partner Dephy, the system features a lightweight motor, drive belt, and rechargeable cuff battery that connect to a carbon-fiber–plated running shoe. Designed for running and walking, the platform augments natural leg movement to make every stride easier. Nike envisions this technology as a way for people to run or walk farther and more often, adding more motion to daily life.
The project has undergone years of refinement through the Nike Sport Research Lab, where more than 400 athletes collectively logged over 2.4 million steps across nine prototype generations. Early testers described the experience as making uphill running feel like flat ground. Michael Donaghu, VP of Create The Future, says the idea began with one question: “What if we could help athletes go faster and farther with less energy and a lot more fun?” Project Amplify reflects that goal by bringing power directly into an athlete’s stride.
A Unified Future of Sport Innovation
Nike innovation ecosystem now includes more than 1,000 designers and scientists working in the Serena Williams Building, the LeBron James Innovation Center, and the Bowerman Footwear Lab. The company’s unified structure enables discoveries from neuroscience, robotics, materials science, and digital design to translate into products faster. “We are a team of dreamers, designers, and creators with a responsibility to make athlete dreams real,” says McCartney.
The company’s mission remains clear: if you have a body, you are an athlete.
