History Repeats Itself Across Industries

History is the place where interesting coincidences and connections are chronicled. It can reveal a path that was not only hidden but wouldn’t have been unveiled without a closer look. This can be in the contexts of war, technology, or even in the case of a shoe. Nike Air Maxes were one of the first shoes to prominently feature outside air bubbles. It was a relatively small change, an innovation that doesn’t seem too extreme today. Although at the time it was a game changer, and the line to get there is anything but simple.

Accutron watches are one of the major players in the market. And they got their start by being the first real fully-electric watch brand. This was impressive enough, but what was even more impressive was their window face design. While most watches opted to hide the mechanisms powering it. Accutron opened the watch up for all to see, gears and all.

This was a wildly successful decision, and is a common design for watches to this day. The path doesn’t end there though, as this design went on to inspire many others. Most importantly, the Centre Pompidou, a French architectural masterpiece. It follows the window view design of the watch by moving its piping and guts to the outside. A building turned fully inside-out. It’s not beautiful in the typical sense, but rather in an innovative one. It’s loud, weird, and took some time for the public to grow to love.

Designed by Richard Rogers, it was an Accutron watch gift that spurred on the concept. The history then repeats itself with the Nike genius that is Tinker Hatfield. Early in his career, Tinker Hatfield was an architect at Nike. Naturally he was a fan of architecture, and specifically the unique style the Centre Pompidou exhibited. It was a few years before he went on to design shoes, but he never forgot the Centre Pompidou.

This is the final line between Accutron watches and Nike Air Max bubbles. The guts spilling out of the Centre Pompidou wasn’t just something Hatfield found interesting. It was the reason behind moving the air bubbles, present on the inside of most sneakers, out. It’s a relatively small change, but it is the change that made Air Maxes into the shoes they are today. A change that took a unique idea and an even more unique interpretation.

At the time this was a major innovation, just like the Centre Pompidou, just like Accutron. The bubbles create a softer look that many shoes have since replicated. Just like many watches replicated Accutron and many buildings took inspiration from the Centre Pompidou. History opened up a path between these three innovations, a line to connect them. 

It’s not clear what lies next in this line, what innovation could rock the world next. What’s clear is instead that history repeats itself, and not always by coincidence. One of the greatest shoes of all time, architectural feats, and watch designs, all inspired by one idea.

A Gift That Inspired History