Nike Tech tracksuits have taken over the streets on both sides of the Atlantic, with Brit-rap megastar Central Cee currently the global face of the trend.
Earlier this year, the platinum-selling artist from West London said, in a now-viral clip, that he “put a lot of man on” to the Nike Tech trend, which kicked up a major storm online—mostly Stateside. This recently led UK journalist/content creator Cee Valentina to dive deep into the history of the iconic tracksuit, and the rich culture surrounding it.
In the latest episode of The CEE TV Podcast, Cee unpacks how the Nike Tech Fleece became a global streetwear staple, exploring its roots in NBA culture, American hip-hop, football, grime and UK drill. The 23-minute video features chapters covering everything from the launch of the Nike Tech Fleece in 2013 to the importance of UK street music in solidifying tracksuits as a staple in streetwear, as well as touching on the viral claim from Central Cee that sparked debate online.
“The documentation of Black British culture and the British streetwear scene is super important to me,” Cee Valentina tells Complex UK. “The more our scene gets international traction through music or shows like Top Boy, people also need to know where things came from! That’s why I decided to cover the evolution of tracksuits in the UK, from casuals culture to fashion trends in grime and drill.”
You can watch the full thing at the top.
