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With the first installment of the “Dunk vs. AF-1” collection — essentially Trading Places in footwear form — right around the corner, UNDEFEATED and Nike have presented detailed photography of the Air Force 1 “Ballistic” and Dunk Low “On Your Feet Kid.” The “Dunk vs. AF-1” collection flips some of the most notable Air Force 1 and Dunk collaborations from UNDEFEATED by using their signature color schemes on the opposing silhouette, making for both an interesting history lesson and a salute to the staying power of two of Nike Sportswear’s most popular sneakers.The Air Force 1 “Ballistic” is inspired by 2003’s Dunk High “Ballistic,” a shoe that was a friends and family only style until it dropped as part of UNDEFEATED and Nike’s “Bring Back 2003” pack in 2012. It features a military-style olive color scheme, rugged suede-and-nylon build, a yellowed midsole and black branded hits. On the other end, the Dunk Low “On Your Feet Kid” reworks an Air Force 1 from 2006 by using a brown and white color scheme with thick leather seams and patterned detailing plus bold touches of yellow. Both prominently feature UNDEFEATED’s Five Strike logo and are completed by special insoles. See both pairs’ key details above, and expect a release on the UNDEFEATED webstore come June 18. For more sneaker release news, take a look at the latest installment of HYPEBEAST’s weekly Best Footwear Drops series.

Metro Detroit-based creative agency DISTINCT LIFE is teaming up with PUMA once again for a Future Rider “Inspire” collaboration. Led by footwear industry veteran Rick Williams, DISTINCT LIFE has worked with PUMA on a myriad of releases that range from Isiah Thomas’ signature Palace Guard to a t-shirt capsule — and the Future Rider “Inspire” was created as a follow-up to the two’s California collaboration from 2020.Dressed in DISTINCT LIFE’s familiar yellow and black color scheme and modeled above by Williams and his wife Yolanda, the Future Rider “Inspire” supplies plenty of sporty style. Its upper is build of a ripstop nylon that’s overlaid by suede on the mudguard, Formstrip and heel, while laces are embellished with a special toggle. DISTINCT LIFE’s “Talented Tenth” branding appears on the midsole brick and works with PUMA’s signature leaping cat on the rear as well. Down below, white EVA foam midsoles and disk-equipped yellow rubber outsoles complete the look. The “Inspire” is also accompanied by two T-shirts with bold DISTINCT LIFE x PUMA iconography. “At DISTINCT LIFE, it is our mission to emulate [the history of Detroit by] inspiring people to do better,” said Rick Williams, Co-Owner and Creative Director of DISTINCT LIFE. “The Puma x DISTINCT LIFE INSPIRE Collection is an extension of our commitment to championing Black entrepreneurship, celebrating Black freedom, and honoring our ancestors who paved the way for me as a Black designer to even be able to work with companies like PUMA.” The DISTINCT LIFE x PUMA Future Rider “Inspire” and its matching t-shirts will release via Foot Locker Detroit on June 18. It’s part of DISTINCT LIFE’s “Inspire 2021” week activactions in Detroit, which also feature everything from Black-owned food trucks to a pop-a-shot basketball tournament. Williams has also recorded an experimental album titled THE geezyTH EXPERIMENT to accompany the release.Elsewhere in the world of footwear, Billie Eilish has received her first ever sneaker collaboration.

New York-based skate brand Bronze 56K and Reebok have teamed up for their third collaborative effort: new iterations of the Answer IV and the Classic Leather. Following a duo of G-Unit inspired Club Cs in 2019 and a sporty Club C in 2018, the partners’ latest co-created products are centered around New York Knicks-esque orange and blue accents and a special dice graphic.Allen Iverson’s Answer IV is reworked with a supple, chalk-colored leather upper. The more toned-down of the two shoes, it boasts embroidered blue dice detailing on both the lateral and medial sides of the shroud-covered collar’s zipper. Under this shroud sits two more signature details, namely Bronze text hits on the tongue in place of standard Reebok branding plus varsity-style orange and yellow stripes. Down below, Bronze56K’s Windows 95-inspired B graphic arrives in place of the outsole’s normal Allen Iverson portrait and gum outsoles complete the look.Though the Classic Leather’s name may indicate otherwise, there’s hardly any leather to be found on its build. Toeboxes, quarters and throats are made of blue nylon and overlaid by chalk suede mudguards, eyestays and heel pieces. Reebok’s signature Vector logo is presented in orange leather on the quarters, with more Bronze56K graphics taking the place of standard Reebok ornamentation on the tongue tag and midfoot window. If you peer into the shoe’s innards, you’ll also see a Bronze56K hit on the insole and a dice graphic on the inside of the tongue. No-frills white midsoles and outsoles supply a finishing touch.The Bronze 56K x Reebok Answer IV and Classic Leather are both set to hit the Reebok webstore come June 26, and may release earlier via Bronze 56K’s channels. The former is priced at $160 USD, the latter at $120 USD.On the hunt for more Reebok news? See Packer Shoes’ Prada-inspired Answer IV collaboration.