Virgil Abloh is a name that's grown synonymous with what is trending in design and fashion. A connoisseur of creating new things from the simplest of concepts, Abloh's collaboration with Nike has emphasized his influence not only in design but in design culture. Having worked with some of the biggest names in fashion, the arts, and sports, it's not hard to imagine Abloh's dive into retail design. 

Nike's new Re-Creation store in Chicago focuses on the celebration of merging sustainability with experiential design. With online shoppingtaking over the consumer market brands like Nike have teamed with architects and influential designs like Abloh to take a new and improved approach to the concept of retail design. 

From the walls to the chairs in the space, the concept of "re-creation" is all around the store. The walls of the store are lined with shoeboxes and the other pieces in the store are made from "Grind," a material Nike coined which consists of old ground up Nike shoes. Customers are invited to bring in their old shoes to either be donated or ground up and remade into other useful items. If these elements do not add to the experience enough, Abloh discusses the other facet of experiencing the space. 

Abloh's goal is to encourage young people to come into the store with the opportunity to create and sketch their own future shoe designs. With access to free notebooks and markers, Abloh want's to bridge the gap between the consumer and the brand also makes the retail space a public space. "The footprint of this place is probably 20% retail on one of the most expensive retail streets in the country," says Abloh. "The concept is valuable to me and the brand, but it's not about the exchange of dollars."