Back in 2021, Nike hosted a CO.JP Tournament on SNKRS, a competition where fans voted for the best CO.JP release. Of the sixteen iconic picks, including the Nike Air Force 1 Premium and Nike Lavadunk, the people crowned the Un-Tiffany Dunk Lows as the winner. Can't knock it.
Now, Nike is bringing back those picks (well, sort of). With its latest "Head to Head" pack, we see a premium Dunk Low and Air Max 1 realized in schemes based on the 2021 CO.JP tournament nominees.
I'll explain. But first a little refresher on Nike CO.JP: CO.JP stands for Concept Japan and was also the URL for Nike's Japanese website.
The CO.JP line was home to Nike's extremely limited Japanese exclusives (Metallic Silver 1s, Plum Dunks, the list is a long one). In short, copping was challenging. It was indeed an IYKYK situation, with very few sneakerheads lucky enough to be tapped in.
Nike's Head 2 Head pack celebrates CO.JP's legendary colorways and top-shelf materials, marrying them for new premium takes on the Dunk Low and Air Max 1. The results are as follows.
With the Dunk Low, we see a brown suede, snakeskin (a signature CO.JP detail), and black leather mashup, topped with a sleek, black reptilian-textured Swoosh. I like to think of it as if CO.JP's Air Force 1 Premium, Air Max 90 Escape, and maybe (just maybe) the Dunk Low Beast Pack had a baby.
As for the Air Max 1, the silhouette arrives in the famed reverse Michigan Dunk's scheme. It doesn't get more classic than borrowing from a CO.JP icon.
Again, the mixture of textures and concepts also comes into play on the AM1, as the leather upper offers moments of both smooth and snakeskin feels, kind of like the Un-Tiffany Dunks.
Nike's Head 2 Head Dunk Low and Air Max 1 shoes land at atmos Tokyo's website on June 8 and in-store at select atmos retail spaces.
It may not be the CO.JP drops you've been stalking resale sites for, but Nike's Head 2 Head pack — which borrows from the coveted line — just might be the closest you'll get to owning the real deals.
