“The Ten” featuring Virgil Abloh & Nike

Virgil Abloh is the owner of rising streetwear brand Off-White. Recently his collaboration with Nike has been revealed and most of the sneaker culture has graciously accepted it. Students at WY have also weighed in. Paul Thomas ‘19 said, “I only saw the Jordan 1 but now seeing the rest of the collection I believe all of the shoes are dope and will be an instant sellout.” The approach that Abloh took was different than those taken previously by streetwear brands when collaborating with a sneaker company. In the past, streetwear brands would try to take a very minimalistic approach and add their branding, but very rarely they would try to make a flashy shoe. Virgil Abloh decided to do something that was unusual but stylish at the same time. His concept consisted of 10 of Nike’s signature shoes and putting his own spin on it. Those ten shoe models were the Jordan 1, Hyperdunk 2017, Zoom Fly SP, Air Force 1 low, Blazer mid, Converse Chuck Taylor, Air Max 90, Air Max 97, Vapormax, and the Air Presto. Virgil decided to use a deconstructive method when it came to making his shoes.

This collaboration is something that Nike needed because although they are still the biggest powerhouse when it comes to sneaker brands, lately a lot of people have been on the Adidas wave. This holds true because of the comfort technology that Adidas uses called “boost.” This collaboration also is a positive comeback from Nike having to end their collaboration with A$AP Bari who was caught on camera sexually abusing a woman which due to Virgil Abloh’s huge following and the dope shoes he created, the shoes will be an instant sellout. The shoes are showing up in very limited quantities having scheduled releases only in New York, Paris, Milan, and London. They are expected to be released at selected retailers and NikeLab stores in November. Watch for them!