UNDEFEATED's Nike "Dunk vs. AF1" Pack Delivers Early 2000s Nostalgia in This Week's Best Footwear Drops
Union LA’s Air Jordan 4 “Tent and Trail” Pack, Bodega’s New Balance 990v3, AMBUSH’s Nike Dunk High “Deep Royal” and more are also slated to release.
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The first month of the Summer season has officially entered into its third week, and the globe’s most notable sneaker brands have assembled a stacked lineup of releases for you to elevate your collection with. Banging collaborations from the likes of Nike and Jordan Brand are on deck, along with more heat from adidas, New Balance and Reebok. Prior to us getting into the 10 best drops of the coming days, let’s first break down all of the action that transpired last week.
Rolling right along with the ongoing Sole Mates series, HYEPEBEAST caught up with RHUDE‘s very own Rhuigi to chop it up about his deeper connection to the Puma Suede. Additionally, we also had the opportunity to speak with Telfar about his newest collection with UGG and dove into the historical impact of Nike and Nike SB Dunks.
Nike and Jordan Brand, as usual, created plenty of hoopla on the news front. The team over at the Swoosh unveiled many a different impending offering from its upcoming collection with Space Jam: A New Legacy, closer looks at the Nike Dunk Low “Georgetown” and Nike Dunk High “University Blue” and a “Flash Lime” Dunk High with AMBUSH. Perhaps the biggest headline that sprung from the Jumpman family was its official trademark filing for the Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 1 Low and the Air Jordan 1 Low SE to prevent further fugazi iterations from getting released. Moroever, MJ’s sportswear juggernaut uncovered a fresh “Quai 54” Air Jordan 5 makeup, an Air Jordan 12 Low “Taxi” built for the fairway and a Duck-friendly Air Jordan 1 Mid PE for Oregon’s Track and Field squad.
It wouldn’t be an exciting news week without any YEEZY-related items, and Kanye definitely delivered as his adidas YEEZY FOAM RNNR “MX Cream Clay”, YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “MX Oat” and YEEZY BOOST 380 “Stone Salt” surfaced, and his partnership with GAP officially kicked off with a pre-order launch of bold and blue Round Jacket. Elsewhere in the realm of Three Stripes, the forthcoming adidas NMD S1 model emerged and Pharrell cooked up a new range of BOOST-cushioned Hu Slides and a playful orange NMD Hu offering.
In terms of other brands, Converse exciting its fans through the reveals of its collaborations with CLOT and SOULGOODS, New Balance previewed its forthcoming 550 colorways in purple and green and Vault by Vans tapped Madhappy for a customizable Og Style 43 LX.
Did we get you all updated? Amazing. Let’s get into the top 10 best sneaker releases of the week. Once you’ve had a chance to look through all of them, head over to HBX to peep even more footwear styles.
AMBUSH x Nike Dunk High “Deep Royal”
Sneaker Politics
Sneaker Politics
Sneaker Politics
Release Date: June 15
Release Price: $180 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS and Sneaker Politics
Why You Should Cop: Yoon of AMBUSH and Nike are continuing their collaborative efforts with a “Deep Royal” iteration of her Dunk High. With two colorways already under their belts, the two parties have crafted a three-toned makeup that mixes between white underlays, “Deep Royal” overlays and stark black accents laid onto the laces, interior lining and lipped out Swooshes.
Bodega x New Balance 990v3
Bodega
Bodega
Bodega
Bodega
Release Date: June 16
Release Price: $220 USD
Where to Buy: Bodega
Why You Should Cop: In celebration of their 15-year anniversary, Bodega has teamed up with New Balance on a striking 990v3 collaboration. The campaign slogan for this new launch is “Here to Stay” and celebrates all of the retailer’s success so far along with its plans to continue building for the future. Seated alongside its muted brown suede uppers and aqua blue liners are “2006” and “2021” hits on the heels along with co-branding on the insoles to nod to the capsule’s celebratory ethos.
Nike Dunk Low “Dusty Olive”
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: June 17
Release Price: $100 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: Nike Sportswear has intentions of dropping a slew of Dunk Lows in the coming months, and next up on the release calendar is the “Dusty Olive” installment. When these first surfaced online, many were comparing it to the Swoosh’s three-piece “Ugly Duckling” Pack based off its color coordination. Overlays are dialed to its nominal shading, and come neighbored by chocolate-y underlays and “Pro Gold” Nike checks.
NOAH x adidas Originals Ron Laver Super and Probound Low
Adidas Originals
Adidas Originals
Adidas Originals
Release Date: June 17
Release Price: $120 USD (Rod Laver Super) and $100 USD (Probound)
Where to Buy: adidas
Why You Should Cop: For Summer 2021, NOAH and adidas Originals have reconnected to unleash a footwear and apparel collection that merges the two worlds of boating and sports. In the sneaker department, the two have cooked up fresh takes atop the Probound and Rod Laver Super. The former is served up with white mesh uppers and accompanied by blue stripes, gray overlays, and navy and red heel tabs. The latter pair is also dominated by white uppers but comes with inverted navy and green accents between each foot.
New Balance 990 V1
New Balance
New Balance
New Balance
Release Date: June 17
Release Price: $175 USD
Where to Buy: New Balance
Why You Should Cop: With the 40th anniversary of the New Balance 990 lineage approaching, the Boston-based sportswear brand is celebrating by crafting a new MADE “Version Series” of the 990V1. Uppers of this iteration shoe are manufactured with a blend of gray suede and mesh, the former of which makes up the underlays while the latter forms the suede overlays. Deviating from the model’s OG version, this variation carries bold red accents atop the mid-foot tabs, tongues and heel branding.
Maison Margiela x Reebok Classic Leather Tabi High
Reebok
Reebok
Reebok
Reebok
Release Date: June 18
Release Price: $650 USD (Bianchetto) and $595 USD (Red, White and Black)
Where to Buy: Reebok and HBX
Why You Should Cop: Maison Margiela and Reebok have made a strong statement in 2021 with their footwear collaborations and after cooking up a Club C capsule, the two brands now move forward to the 1985 Club C Leather High. This time around though, designer John Galliano remixes the silhouette with a gladiator sandal-like build by utilizing the decortiqué design method. Tonal white, red and black colorways, along with a signature Bianchetto makeup are included in the range.
Undefeated x Nike “Dunk vs. AF1” Collection
Reebok
Reebok
Reebok
Release Date: June 18
Release Price: TBD
Where to Buy: UNDEFEATED
Why You Should Cop: After going on a run of Kobe-related collaborations with Nike, UNDEFEATED is switching gears here and dropping the first installment of its “Dunk vs. AF1” Pack. Included in this initial drop are the Air Force 1 “Ballistic” and the Nike Dunk Low “On Your Feet Kid”. The former is inspired by the Dunk High “Ballistic” from 2003 — a pair that was initially gifted to friends and family until it launched as part of UNDEFEATED and Nike’s “Bring Back 2003” pack in 2012. The latter is influenced by an Air Force 1 rendition from 2006 by that utilized a two-toned using a brown and white palette with thick leather seams yellow accents.
adidas YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Mono” Pack
Adidas
Adidas
Adidas
Release Date: June 18
Release Price: $220 USD
Where to Buy: adidas and Yeezy Supply
Why You Should Cop: Kanye and adidas have plenty of Yeezy sneakers left in the chamber to drop in 2021, and next up on their to-do list is the three-pronged YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Mono Pack”. This is somewhat of a refreshing release for Ye as the uppers on these 350s have been slightly altered with a new monofilament mesh layer that offers an X-ray effect and allows you to see through to the sneaker’s inner cages. Each colorway will be distributed to different regions, the “Ice” being the makeup to hit the US while the “Clay will release in Asia and the “Mist” in Europe.
Union LA x Air Jordan 4 “Tent and Trail” Pack
Union La
Union La
Union La
Release Date: June 20
Release Price: $250 USD
Where to Buy: Union
Why You Should Cop: After teaming up on the Air Jordan 4 back in Fall 2020, Union LA and Jordan Brand are back for a second capsule entitled “Tent and Trail”. Two colorways including the “Desert Moss” and “Taupe Haze” are on deck, both of which are inspired by outdoor and hiking clothes that were trendy in the 90s era. Both pairs will be released via raffle, but the “Taupe Haze” rendition will be exclusive to Union.
Ishod Wair x Magnus Walker x Nike Dunk High
Nike
Nike
Nike
Release Date: June 20
Release Price: $120 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: A deep love for cars is something that pro skater Ishod Wair and designer Magnus Walker have in common. And to further express this passion, they’ve teamed up with Nike SB to create automobile-inspired SB Dunk High collaboration. Their muse here is the 1971 Porsche 911 T 277, and this is reflected in the white, blue and red color schemes, the “277” hits on the heels and the Urban Outlaw logos on the side panels. Over time, the leather wears away natural and reveals a golden layer.
