NikeLab has enjoyed repeated success with designs for Riccardo Tisci, and the pair have just revealed their fourth collaboration.
The sportswear giant has teamed up with the inimitable designer to unveil a reworked pair of Dunk Lux Highs, with a nod to 80s basketball and skate culture. Having collaborated on three previous occasions, it’s no surprise that Tisci – the man who wore trainers to meet Hubert de Givenchy and practically lives in his Air Force 1s – has come back to give us more.
The new design, the NikeLab Dunk Lux Chukka x RT, has the option of two colourways – red/white and black/white – and inevitably combines the athletic brand’s cutting-edge sports tech with Tisci’s more high fashion eye. Cushioned with memory foam, they’re crafted in high-quality leather, and like the previous generation Luxe Dunk High, this pair has gone supersized with Nike’s signature Swoosh unmissably big. In the brand’s campaign image, Tisci is seen with muse Bella Hadid, both sporting the signature shoe.
In much the same way as the pairing itself, the inspiration for the new Dunk design is an established favourite. Having previously shown his AW14 menswear collection for Givenchy on a basketball set and referenced the sport in previous outings with NikeLab, Tisci turned to the sport’s 80s glory days when the opportunity came to rekindle his collaboration. The designer played basketball as a teenager in his native Italy, and drew on his love of the sport as an adult, laying the foundations for a relationship with NikeLab that’s delivered time and time again.
The collaboration comes at an interesting time for Tisci, who last week announced his departure from Givenchy after a 12-year tenure as creative director. As we all await with baited breath what his next move might be, you need only hold on until 10 February, when these new Dunks drop in New York City. For the rest of the world, you have to wait until Feb 23.
