LI-NING References Chinese Heritage, Archive Designs and Skate Culture for SS21

After presenting eight new offerings for Fall/Winter 2020 and teasing its collaboration with Soulland, Chinese sportswear label LI-NING has now offered a closer look at its Spring/Summer 2021 sneaker collection.

First up from LI-NING is the XUAN KONG, a cyberpunk-inspired, highly-technical sneaker that combines Chinese heritage with modern technologies and textiles. The pair has a number of notable talking points worth highlighting, such as its futuristic, chunky sole unit that extends way past the heel, and its TPU-heavy upper. The upper has a mesh base and is covered in a TPU cage that creates a geometric shell all over the silhouette. This is paired with a streamlined rope lacing system, synthetic overlays on the tongue, and breathable panels all around for more retro-futuristic design elements.

Next from LI-NING is the EXD 2021 BOOM. This pair looks to the archives and is inspired by the brand’s champion footwear designed for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. It centers around the Boom sole, which to this day is one of LI-NING’s most pioneering and supportive sole units on offer. The shoe’s upper is made from mesh, foam, and translucent materials that make the chunky silhouette look lightweight. Overlaying panels, prints and graphics sit on top of the lightweight materials, while components such as a heel loop tag and a light green sole plug that extends to the heel round out the pair.

Lastly, LI-NING showcases the WAVE ZEN for SS21. It’s inspired by skate and surf culture and is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before from the brand. This mid-cut silhouette is made from leather, suede and canvas, and is covered in overlapping wave logos that are synonymous with LI-NING, creating a busy graphic-printed upper. Elsewhere we see a doubled-up heel loop, a large, multi-tread Cloud Foam sole unit that’s also printed with graphics and text, and slithers of exposed foam for another nod to skateboarding sneakers.

Take a look at the three LI-NING sneakers in the SS21 collection above. You can expect more information to come in September.

In case you missed it, here is an official look at the Off-White™ x Air Jordan 4 “Sail.”