Month: October 2021

Footwear collaborations continue to be some of the hottest commodities in the world of fashion, and while there are designers, artists, tastemakers etc. receiving their own collabs, few are able to achieve what Chitose Abe and her sacai imprint have done with Nike. And to ring in the month of October, sacai is completing its Fall team-ups with Edison Chen and the Swoosh with the official launch of the CLOT x sacai x Nike LDWaffle “K.O.D. 2” in “Obsidian Grey.”The first “Orange Blaze” offering drew inspiration from CLOT’s Air Max 1 “K.O.D.” from 2006, while this newest piece takes after the follow-up to the original “Kiss of Death” iteration. The color palette of this Nike LDWaffle is guided by a “Neutral Grey” that cascades over most of the mesh and synthetic upper, the laces and the throat, while an “Obsidian” hue contrasts through the Swooshes in the foreground. Notes of “Cool Grey” also touch up the underlying Swooshes and the interior lining while a splash of bright green graces the inner tongue.Double stacked midsole units alternate between an off-white upper layer that is decorated with white speckles while the lower piece stacks a navy layer and gum-covered waffle sole on top of each other.JUICE and sacai locations will be dropping this pair come October 7 while Nike SNKRS will release them on October 9 for $180 USD.In other news, HYPEBEAST’s Sole Mates series continued with a conversation with Mike Packer about his love for the Nike Air Trainer 1.

As long as sneaker consumers continue to clear out Nike’s inventory of Dunks that arrive on the market, there’s really no reason for the brand to stop producing as many colorways as it can. While much focus has been on the imprint’s collaborations with the likes of the NBA and Gundam, the Swoosh is now redirecting our attention to its GR family to reveal the latest Nike Dunk High “Black/Hyper Royal” makeup.From afar, these kicks might just look like a simple two-toned colorway, but it possesses subtle design furnishings that allow it to stand on its own. Let’s start out with the main details shall we? The kicks are primarily done up with smooth black leathers that form the toe boxes, forefoot, quarters and collars, while a “Hyper Royal” tone complements through the flaps, lower heel overlays, interior side of the tongues and just around the lateral and medial Swooshes. Two sets of patterns then usher in more flair, the first being a black and gray camo which sit on the overlays nearest the throat while reflective grid patterns follow suit and adorn the tongues.It’s still up in the air when these will be available to the public, but there’s a good chance Nike could be dropping them sometime during Fall ’21.In other sneaker news, more images of Travis Scott’s Nike Air Max 1 “Baroque Brown” have emerged.

Collaborations are a significant piece of New Balance’s footwear strategy this year, especially in recent memory as it has unveiled buzzing collaborations with the likes of Stone Island, Salehe Bembury and AURALEE. And to keep this tempo pushing forward, it is now giving us a preview of its fourth chapter with streetwear label Stray Rats which involves a duo of Made in England New Balance 991s. This assemblage follows up the brand’s New Balance 574 collection that launched during the first week of 2021.The first iteration in this assortment is one of extremely vivid color-blocking. Suede underlays are supplied with a Barney-esque purple hue and coupled with overlays that split between baby blue and dirt brown accents. On top of that, slime green hits make their arrival on the borders of the “N” logos as well as the interior liners. Extra details on these extra loud kicks include that of the co-branded insoles and the two-toned midsoles which splash more baby blue to the heels and more purple towards the forefoot.Its release sibling takes a much darker-toned approach with its presentation. Base layers and sole units appear to be predominantly covered in black while minor pops of pink show face on the “N” logos, forefoot branding and midsoles.We’re still waiting on an official announcement from the brand to see when they will release, but it’s likely that they could be dropping in the coming weeks.Previously, the New Balance 990v3 was unveiled in its signature grey colorway with pops of “Ruby.”