As part of their larger EQUALITY initiative that launched in February, Nike has unveiled their 2017 BETRUE collection. The collection is inspired by the LGBTQ community, and celebrates the passion and pursuit of sport by all athletes.
BETRUE started in 2012 with a grassroots effort led by passionate Nike employees. To connect with the LGBTQ community in a personalized way, they made a few styles with NIKEiD in celebration of Pride month. United by a common mission to innovate for all athletes* and provide equal access to sport, these employees developed a plan to bring BETRUE to more people.
“The key for us was to create something that people could unite around to show their support for LGBTQ athletes,” says Robert Gorman, LBGT Network Leader at Nike. “Sporting your rainbow in the gym or on a run became a way to feel like you belonged to something larger – you were connected to being ‘out’ or being an ally. The rainbow has and always will be incorporated into the BETRUE product in some way.”
The 2017 collection includes footwear and apparel and will be on-sale beginning June 1 at Nike retailers and at Nike.com.
The 2017 BETRUE footwear and apparel collection pairs the rainbow with other prominent symbols of Pride, including the color pink and the triangle, with Nike innovations and the encouraging message, RUN FIERCE, printed onto the shoes’ sock-liners.
These innovations include a number of “firsts” introduced in the 2017 collection, including the first eight-color, HD rainbow Swoosh design (on the Nike Flyknit Racer) and the first rainbow VaporMax Air unit (on the NikeLab Air VaporMax Flyknit). The collection also includes the Nike Cortez, one of the company’s first footwear releases, with “BEEN TRUE” written on the sockliner — underscoring Nike’s longstanding commitment to equality and expression. It is also the first time the BETRUE collection will be available in key cities globally.
Learn more about the 2017 BETRUE collection here.
