Is there such a thing as too many sneaker collaborations? The sneaker culture has always thrived on sneaker collabs, and we never thought too much of it. We’re always excited to cop the latest sneaker hybrid!
Let’s take this step by step and break down the whole issue, per se. First of all, what exactly is a sneaker collab?
A sneaker collaboration is a beautiful (on the most part) partnership between the sneaker industry and someone from the outside. It doesn’t matter what industry you belong to! If you’ve got a major BUZZ to your name, you’re getting a collaboration! If the people get excited to hear news about you or your organization, you’re getting a collaboration!
That’s it! You could live in a pineapple under the sea and still get a sneaker in your name. Yes, we’re definitely talking about Spongebob Squarepants here. But, he’s got a sneaker with Kyrie and you don’t. So…Â
Sneaker Collaborations 2021 Honorable Mentions
Adidas x Yeezy
The Adidas x Yeezy partnership is one of the most popular sneaker collaborations in the entire industry! It started back in 2013 after Kanye decided to leave Nike for Adidas – fueling the checks vs stripes feud!
Why did Kanye leave Nike? It’s because he wanted more. No, really! Kanye wanted to have full creative control over the sneaker designs and a percentage of royalties. Something Adidas was more willing to discuss.
Most Popular Silhouettes of 2021: Yeezy Foam Runner Ochre, Yeezy Boost 450 V2 Cloud White, and Yeezy 700 Sun – keeping the dad shoes trend alive. Also, Yeezy Day 2021 featured a lot of epic restocks with tons of nostalgic vibes! Click on the button below to read all about it!
Nike x Jordan
We don’t need to tell you too much about the iconic sneaker collaboration in history. The Nike x Michael Jordan collaboration! Even if you’ve never been too fond of sneakers, even if you don’t watch the NBA; you know Michael Jordan.
The Jordan brand started with the Air Jordan 1 back in 1985 – that’s 36 years of Jordans. With every release and every silhouette, Nike x Jordan changed the game!
Most Popular Silhouettes of 2021: Air Jordan 1 Trophy Room, Travis x Fragment, and Jordan 4 Retro SP Union Taupe.
Nike x Patta
Nike’s relationship with Dutch artist Parra began in 2005 and still going strong! They worked together with Amsterdam boutique Patta on the iconic Nike Air Max 1 Cherrywood – which currently resells for almost $6,000. These are the sneakers that have the GRAIL status. Ain’t for the fainthearted.
Most Popular Silhouette of 2021: Nike SB Dunk Low Parra Abstract Art
Converse x Rick Owens
Rick Owens, the Lord of Darkness, is one of the STRANGEST, epic sneaker collaborations of 2021. It featured the reworked TURBODRK Chuck 70s under his DRKSHDW diffusion line. It was available in the Hi and Ox-cut iterations in a monochromatic black-and-white theme. The most prominent feature on this Chuck is definitely the squared-off toe grill! We’ve had sneaker collaborations by Rick Owen before like Dr. Martens, but nothing like this!
Most Popular Silhouette of 2021: Converse TURBODRK Chuck Taylor All-Star 70 Hi
The Future of Partnerships
In a nutshell, there have been literally TONS of sneaker collaborations in the past few years. The sneaker and music industry have NEVER been this close! Collaborations with pints of ice cream.A lot of the biggest luxury fashion houses like Louis Vuitton and Prada. And, we’ve even had collaborations with TV shows and movies!
Heck, even Kanye West is collaborating. A Yeezy collab is something we never – in a million years – expected to happen. Kanye loves Kanye. He’s a self-proclaimed Christian Genius Billionaire. So, if he’s collaborating, he MUST think there’s some kind of brilliance to it!
This is why we don’t think the market for kicks born out of a sneaker collab will die down any time soon. As long as brands keep partnering up with people we like, we’re going to cop.