Melitta Baumeister and Nike introduce their latest collaboration with a campaign starring Kembra Pfahler, bringing the artist into the visual world of Baumeister’s experimental fashion. The project accompanies the release of a complete footwear and apparel collection featuring the Nike Rift Rocker, a sculptural tracksuit and an oversized reversible puffer jacket. Through exaggerated forms, hand-shaped details and unexpected accessories, the collection develops Baumeister’s distinctive approach to clothing and footwear.
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Pfahler’s involvement gives the campaign a connection to experimental art, a field that shares Baumeister’s interest in unconventional forms and the human body. The collaboration introduces a wardrobe in which familiar sportswear pieces take on unusual proportions, allowing the designer’s sculptural approach to inform the collection from head to toe.
The new project builds on Baumeister’s previous work with Nike, which introduced hand-painted colour treatments and graphic details to the Vomero and Pegasus. For the latest collection, the designer takes her experimentation further by developing new forms and components.
The Nike Rift Rocker provides the clearest example of this process. Baumeister sculpted its exaggerated midsole by hand using clay, creating an original shape that Nike translated into footwear tooling. The resulting silhouette features a curved rocker sole that changes the proportions of the familiar split-toe design.
Small details retain references to the original modelling process. Hand impressions, sculpted eyelets and the designer’s MB Swoosh appear throughout the footwear, bringing the physical character of the clay models into the finished product. The Rift Rocker arrives in Black and Yukon Brown, two colourways that emphasise the unusual shape and construction of the shoe.
The clothing follows the same experimental direction, with Baumeister applying sculptural techniques to familiar sportswear categories. A twisted tracksuit introduces exaggerated proportions through a jacket and trousers with bent, structured legs. Internal boning maintains the unusual shape of the trousers, creating the impression of continuous motion even when the wearer stands still.
A removable nose-shaped keychain adds another playful element to the design, extending the designer’s interest in the human body into the collection’s accessories.
The oversized reversible puffer jacket introduces further possibilities through its adaptable construction. Hidden hand graphics appear on the interior, while underarm slits allow alternative ways of wearing the garment. The jacket can also function as a backpack and includes a passport pocket, a removable shawl and a banana-shaped accessory that opens into a tote bag.
Baumeister carried her hands-on approach into the smallest elements, personally shaping zipper pulls, snaps and cord stops from clay. The collection brings together these unusual details through a shared interest in physical form and the possibilities of transforming everyday garments.
The Melitta Baumeister x Nike collection launched on November 5, 2026, with a wider release scheduled for November 12 through Nike SNKRS and selected retailers.
