If there’s a theme running through March’s selection of running shoes, it is colour. From the Art Attack take on the Dunk Low – Nike’s legendary skate shoe, repurposed by the brand’s in-house craft studio – to a baby-pink update of adidas Originals’ Hu NMD from Mr Pharrell Williams. The Vaporwaffle, Sacai’s supermarket sweep through the Nike archives, arrives in a new colourway, another nod to the sporting powerhouse’s heritage. And if Maison Margiela’s upgrade of Reebok’s classic Club C tennis shoe is the obvious exception here, the complete lack of colour is a statement in itself. Spring is clearly around the corner, as well as in your step…

Housed in the belly of Nike’s Beaverton campus headquarters, Blue Ribbon Studio is – cringe-face emoji – where the magic happens. A nod to the origins of the sportswear behemoth (founders Messrs Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight first registered the company as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964), this sanctum is a space where employees can experiment with materials and production techniques. Think of it as a grown-up arts and crafts room, with 3D printers, laser cutters and high-tech fabric, as well as googly eyes, glue sticks and, we assume, glitter. Well, it beats a suggestion box. But more than a Bakhtinian safety valve, this carnival of creativity has now spilled out into the real world in the form of this out-there take on the brand’s beloved skate shoe, redesigned by Nike workers. Its features include a see-through Swoosh, a zip-up tongue with a secret compartment and a colourway that, to be honest, we had trouble nailing down.

If the recent Tabi Instapump Fury hybrid was a bit much for you, this might be more your speed. A play on the Club C, Reebok’s iconic 1980s tennis shoe, Maison Margiela’s update is typically refined. But the Parisian house’s take goes a lot deeper – or, rather, it doesn’t, given that all features on the uppers come printed on. Trompe l’oeil (literally “trick of the eye”) is a technique long synonymous with the French art scene. An optical illusion, it uses shaded imagery to mimic three dimensions, suggesting depth where there isn’t any. Students of fashion will know that in the mid 1990s this motif became a signature of Margiela’s runway collections. A high-brow concept here turned on the everyman shoe, and one that thankfully doesn’t fall flat.

If you still haven’t quite got your head around the photocopy-of-a-photocopy aesthetic of Ms Chitose Abe’s Nike mashup, by now you’ll at least be familiar with it. This colourway – Dark Iris/Campfire Orange – should also ring a bell. It goes by the nickname “Lakers” after the reigning NBA champions, with contrast tones remarkably similar to those sported by the Los Angeles team. And while not an official affiliation, you will see a Swoosh on Mr LeBron James’ 2021 jersey. The shoes themselves once again pair the Waffle soles that kick-started the Nike revolution back in the 1970s with the brand’s cutting-edge Flyknit and Vapor technology, not to mention this shoe’s now trademark heel shelf. Certainly worth a double-take.

With the wedge aesthetic of a 1970s sportscar concept, the Hu MND silhouette from Mr Pharrell Williams and adidas Originals wasn’t ever what you would call stealth. (Perhaps, in its black incarnation, a bit Stealth Bomber.) This latest edition, then, might look flush, but is not shy nor retiring, coming as it does in a particularly eye-catching shade of pink – we’ve got it down as bubblegum. Cute, certainly, but also specced out as ever, with a Boost midsole and a Primeknit mesh sock upper. A statement shoe, indeed – with “Human Race” in Chinese characters plastered across the pastel-hued forefront. Very much on our radar (and not flying under it).