Nike Presto Taps Reynolds
Jarrett Reynolds, founder of Los Angeles-based junior and young men’s label Tokyo 1, will head to Oregon to join the design team at Nike as the Beaverton-based shoe giant expands its Nike Presto shoe line into a full apparel launch.
Nike quietly launched the Presto line in 2000, targeting the young men’s and women’s market with an MTV campaign. The Presto slip-on running shoe is offered in a wide range of colors and styles.
Reynolds said he and all his friends are sneaker buffs and the new position is a perfect fit. He will join the design team working on the new Presto men’s and women’s apparel lines. Although the Presto apparel and shoe divisions will be headed by different teams in different locations, the two teams will work closely together, said Reynolds.
“One day maybe I can design shoes—basically that’s my dream,” he said.
Reynolds has shuttered the Tokyo 1 label, and he described the timing of the move to Nike as “pretty much perfect.”
The designer said he’s looking forward to working with a large company that has, as he put it, “everything I need at my fingertips.”
“This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said.
Reynolds and his sister Lauren launched Tokyo 1 and Lauren Reynolds’ contemporary line Ten:02 at about the same time, producing the two collections as companion lines. Lauren Reynolds will continue producing the Ten:02 line.
“I’m so proud of him,” said Lauren Reynolds, who added, “I’m so going to miss him.” —Alison A. Nieder
