THE JOURNAL
When Nike SB, the sportswear giant’s skateboarding line, was launched 20 years ago, expectations were considerably lower than one of Mr Danny Way’s record jumps. Several previous Swoosh-branded skate models had failed to land and the one Nike silhouette gaining traction in early 2000s skateparks wasn’t strictly a skate shoe. The Dunk had first been released in 1985 as a college basketball shoe, but a series of Japanese low-top reissues around the turn of the century set the scene for its re-emergence – and second life on the halfpipe. Fast forward to last month and a pair of Nike SB Dunks sold for £83,825 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. So, when the finance bros tell you that NFTs are where the big bucks are at, you just put your foot down and stick to sneakers.
01.
Air Max 95 Topographic by Nike
The popular legend is that Mr Sergio Lozano, who had been plucked from Nike’s ACG division to shake up its flagship shoe, based the design of the Air Max 95 on the muscle tissue of the human body. But he also brought with him his love of the outdoors. “I was looking across the lake out into the trees and I began picturing the process of rain eroding the earth and thought it would be interesting if the perfect product was unearthed by erosion,” he says. It’s this version of events that the new Topographic edition of the shoe plays to, with an upper that looks like exposed strata of sedimentary rock. (A neat touch, each layer comes in a colour drawn from Nike’s archives.) Speaking of bedding, this might be a pair to keep boxed up and preserved for future generations.
02.
Air Max 1 NH Treeline by Nike
The latest take on the shoe that first put the air front and centre – actually in the heel – is surprisingly down to earth. Landing in a nature-inspired colourway, this mossy green suede mudguard and heel is the next best thing to forest bathing. Teamed with the soft purple textured Swoosh, tan panels and a white midsole, it’s a subtle nod to 2010’s SB Dunk High Skunk.
03.
Air Kukini by Nike
Take a walk on the wild side, they said. Launched in 2000, the Air Kukini predated the “ugly shoe” trend by some 15 years. Even today, it’s TPU webbing still feels like it is from the future. A bold, laceless shoe that has been endorsed by Stüssy and Junya Watanabe, you might have thought that Nike itself couldn’t push it any farther. Yet here we are with a reissue of the Y2K runner in leopard print. If you can take your eyes off that, you might also notice the pull tabs, Air Max heel unit and claw marks on the insoles. A beast that has been caged.