There are a lot of sneaker partnerships these days. shoe blogs wouldn’t be the same without all the excitement and attention that goes into the goods that fashion brands, artists, and singers create for shoe brands.
But clearly there was a time when people didn’t work together at all. And some collaborations have been more important than others over the years.
These days, there are so many collaborations that we forget about some of them as soon as they come out, if not before.
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Junya Watanabe x Nike Zoom Haven
Year Of Release: 1999
Riccardo Tisci, who works for Givenchy, is finally getting ready to release his Air Force 1 line with Nike. However, Junya Watanabe has been making sports shoes for a long time and knows all about that.
He worked on the Nike Zoom Haven in 1999; this eccentric trainer is unlikely to be released in vintage form anytime soon. It showed that high-fashion or male designers weren’t too cool to create a sports shoe.
It also showed the obvious connection between fashion and shoe culture, which is ever too clear now.
If it weren’t for Watanabe breaking down walls, it’s tough to see Nike presenting the Hyperfeel during New York Fashion Week—even though it’s a serious sports shoe with an avant garde design ethos.
Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low
Year Of Release: 2003
Sneakerheads preserve the qualities that set Air Jordans apart, but in 2003 Supreme paid homage to the Air Jordan III and made the shoe community fall in love with it.
There were several reasons why the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Lows were significant. The sneakers brought an army of sneakerheads to Supreme while also stealing the elephant pattern from the Air Jordan III.
Additionally, it contributed to Nike SB’s early success by establishing the brand’s trust with the fickle skate community.
In addition to being some of the most sought-after Nike SBs ever made, the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Lows helped pave the way for the future Supreme x Nike releases, including the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Hi bundle.
However, it demonstrated that companies could honor vintage shoes without making them too sentimental or unappealing.
Rather, the Air Jordan III was made available to a skate community that may have skated the Air Jordan 1, but didn’t want to harm their prized Jordans that were used as “chillin’ shoes.” This was accomplished with the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Lows.
ESPO x Nike Air Force II
Year Of Release: 2004
Street artists who were able to translate their artwork onto vintage shoes were the focus of sneaker collaborations in the mid-2000s. Nike tried this idea several times, but none of them had the same impact as ESPO’s work on the Air Force II.
Although the shoe was created for charity, it had a significant impact on sneaker partnerships. From then on, Nike produced transparent Air Force 1s and Vandals, and before you knew it, transparent sneakers had become a mainstay of the counterfeit market.
Though it may not be as revered as it once was, this sneaker serves as an example of what happens when an artist is given creative control over a shoe’s design.
Undefeated x Air Jordan IV
Year Of Release: 2005
Jordan Brand doesn’t work with many other companies or individuals. Actually, Jordan had only collaborated with its own stable of sportsmen and designers up until 2005.
That is, until Undefeated was offered the chance to work on the Air Jordan IV, one of the most revered Air Jordans ever made.
Only 79 pairs of the collaboration’s Air Jordans were made, but they’re still regarded as some of the greatest since Undefeated gave the shoe the shop’s now-iconic flying jacket design.
The Undefeated IV demonstrated that an Air Jordan can be tastefully customized by an outside party, despite the opinions of many purists who only want to see the shoes done in their original colors.
Drake and Vashtie may mail their thank-you notes to Los Angeles for helping to make their shoes a reality.
Kanye West x Louis Vuitton
Year Of Release: 2009
Kanye West is almost always brought up in discussions about the state of the sneaker business today. He had worked with Louis Vuitton before leaving Nike to design for Adidas.
If the concept of Kanye West collaborating with Nike seemed wild, imagine how ridiculous it was for him to develop many pairs of shoes with Louis Vuitton.
The Dons, Jaspers, and Mr. Hudson are three distinct shapes that Kanye created and named after his close pals, all thanks to his partnership with Marc Jacobs.
This line included the idea that a rapper could create a high-end shoe in addition to providing wealthy Kanye followers with footwear to rock. Hip-hop has always loved pricey footwear, but Kanye introduced a few pairs that were affordable for streetwear fans and sold for actual hype amounts.
Kanye successfully created a marketable product for the high-end fashion industry, which had previously shown complete disbelief and contempt towards hip-hop.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sneaker partnerships—like Kanye West x Louis Vuitton—have greatly influenced the culture around shoes by pushing the limits of streetwear and fashion.
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