Slawn Made Art of Air Maxes
Slawn and Nike’s collaboration, a two-piece drop consisting of paint-splattered Air Max 90s, is a historic moment: Slawn is Nike’s first Nigerian-born sneaker collaborator. Which, considering how relentless Nike’s collaborative output is, comes as quite a surprise.
But the significance of Slawn’s Nike collaboration goes beyond it being history-making; it’s a testimony to his explosive rise to the top of London’s art scene.
Hot on the heels of unveiling an exhibition with Marni at its Fall/Winter 2025 show in Milan, together with his close friend and collaborator, Soldier, and making a cameo in Highsnobiety’s Not In London project, Slawn launches a collaboration with the world’s biggest sportswear company. This is all within one week.
Clearly, Slawn is a man in high demand, he's becoming somewhat ubiquitous in both art and fashion.
And while working on a seemingly endless array of projects as well as running a cafe, he found time to upgrade a classic Nike Air Max.
Paint splatters emerge across his collaborative shoes, offered in either white or black, while Nike’s inimitable swoosh is made to look like it’s been hand-painted. Slawn’s trademark cartoonish figures emerge embossed on the heel cap and a see-through the shoebox.
It’s an arty upgrade to a sporty sneaker that brings back memories of another paint-splatterd collaboration: Nike x Stash.
First debuted in the early naughts and recently revived by Nike, the blue-hued Stash Air Maxes are considered by many a grail. At the time, Stash was a buzzy name, a highly regarded graffiti artist and a fixture in the then-burgeoning streetwear scene.
In some ways, this collaboration feels like 2025’s version of Nike x Stash. Not only are they both creating paint-splattered Air Maxes, but Slawn is also at a similar stage of his career: an underground artist hitting the big-time with strong links to streetwear.
And when the shoes are released at a London pop-up on March 1 (followed by a global release on April 4), you can expect them to sell out just as quickly as Stash’s Nikes do.
