Model: SK Shox TL
Key Features: The silhouette evokes distinct mid ’00s sportswear vibes thanks to its eye-catching aesthetic. Big hole mesh features on the upper and synthetic overlays run across it in a futuristic pattern that is reminiscent of the Nike Air Max Plus. The maximalist, car engine-inspired Shox cushioning system is dressed in a vivid red, contrasting the black upper.
Release Date: September 12
Price: $180 / €180
Buy: Nike and select retailers such as Dover Street Market
Editor’s Notes: After teasing his SK Shox collaboration when he dropped the video for single “Bullet From a Gun” in May, Skepta and Nike have both officially announced the sneaker’s release information. The legendary grime MC first posted an image of the shoe to his Instagram. This will be Skepta’s fourth Nike collaboration, following the Nike Air Max Deluxe, Air Max 97/BW, and the Air Max 97.
Skepta vividly remembers his first encounter with Nike Shox. “When I used to go to Manchester, all the kids were rocking Shox. It was a real street shoe there. I liked their swag — the windbreakers and the Shox,” he says. “I thought ‘Yeah, let’s definitely do that,’ because I always remember those trips up north.”
This particular collaboration is also Sekpta’s most personal to date. In 2018, Skepta was named a chief in his parents’ home state of Ogun in Nigeria. “It made me realize that anybody could be a chief, but some people are brought up not thinking they can,” he explains. “It was about bringing Nike to Nigeria and letting the kids know the energy.”
Nike’s Shox line was relaunched late last year, with various styles and colorways having already been released in 2019. Shox technology debuted in the early ’00s but was actually designed by Nike Air Force 1 designer Bruce Kilgore in the mid ’80s, laying dormant for nearly 20 years. Upon its introduction to the market, it was quickly phased out by the emergence of Nike Free in the mid to late ’00s. Skepta was in his late teens when Nike first released Shox, making this collab a nostalgia trip for the rapper.
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