Melitta Baumeister Teams Up With Nike: “Run Like No One Is Watching”

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.