Nike Heats Things Up With a LeBron 8 "South Beach" Revival in This Week's Best Footwear Drops

As we’ve officially entered into the latter half of July, global sneaker brands are looking to show out strong with a cornucopia of new footwear releases. The next week has a swanky bunch of iterations that are getting pushed out from Nike, Reebok, Jordan Brand and more, but before we run through this week’s best 10 releases, lets’s first boil down all of the biggest news that erupted last week.

In terms of exclusive content, HYPEBEAST had the opportunity to catch up with Helen Kirkum to discuss her deeper affinity for the Nike Air Max 90, talk with Jide Osifeso — Reebok‘s Artistic Marketing Director — and Inga Stenta — vector brand’s head of US Marketing — about Kerby Jean-Raymond’s new basketball focused short film CrateMaster, as well as speak with Vandy the Pink about his recently launched collection with HBX. As per usual, a generous heap of footwear-related news surfaced. Nike officially announced its Tokyo Olympics collection that featured collabs with the likes of AMBUSH, UNDERCOVER, sacai and Off-White™, previewed its COMME des GARÇONS HOMME PLUS x Nike Air Sunder Max collection on the runway and officially unveiled the upcoming sacai x Nike Blazer Low “Iron Grey” and “British Tan” colorways. Additionally, the Swoosh provided early glimpses of the Nike Dunk High “Yellow Acid Wash” and the Air Max 2021.

Jordan Brand came out with some compelling news as well, the biggest perhaps being the official unveiling of the Travis Scott x fragment design x Air Jordan 1 High “Military Blue”. Given that the Air Jordan 36 is arriving soon, special colorways for brand signees Jayson Tatum and Luka Dončić were revealed along with closer looks at the Off-White™ x Air Jordan 2 Low “White/Red”.

Shifting over to the Three Stripes side, a brand new N.E.R.D. x adidas NMD Hu makeup that celebrates the 20th anniversary of In Search Of… was revealed, along with a stealthy new adidas YEEZY BOOST 380 and a Sean Wotherspoon x Disney x adidas Superturf Adventure “Jiminy Cricket” project. Additionally, the German brand dropped an Ultra4D collaboration with Packer and reported that it will be bringing back a duo of Kobe models in 2022.

Outside of these brands, we saw YG’s 4Hunnid imprint drop a Lakers-inspired Block Runner, doublet and Suicoke team up for some sheep slippers and Reebok travel to Jurassic Park for a full-fledged apparel and sneaker collection.

Caught up? Amazing. Check out the top 10 releases of the week here below and be sure to peep more footwear styles on HBX whenever you finish.

CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 “K.O.D. Solar Red”

Release Date: July 20
Release Price: TBD
Where to Buy: JUICE
Why You Should Cop: What will now serve as the third collaborative CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 this year, the “Solar Red” is gearing up for its official release. This latest offering is inspired by an exclusive colorway that was created for Kanye West on his Touch The Sky tour stop in Hong Kong back in 2006. Bold red uppers are amalgamated with dark gray leather collars and mesh toe boxes while reflective mudguards and golden heel embroidery deliver extra contrasting.

Nike Free Run Trail “Dark Driftwood”

Release Date: July 20
Release Price: $180 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: First launched in 2004, the Nike Free Run Trail wow’d the sneaker community for its lightweight constructions, flexibility and plush comfort. 17 years later, it’s seen a resurgence on the market, and now it’s been proffered in an earthy “Dark Driftwood” colorway. Its nominal hue does most of the talking and covers its ventilated upper while the Swooshes offset with a rustic orange. Hiking-ready sole units are made with the all-white look.

FTC x Nike SB Dunk Low

Release Date: July 21
Release Price: $110 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS
Why You Should Cop: San Francisco-based skate shop FTC is one of the next entities to apply its creative touch to the popular Nike SB Dunk Low. A member of Nike’s 2021 Tokyo Olympics collection, the forthcoming piece is influenced by Tokyo’s famous bath houses. Luxe details include that of quilted uppers, metallic Swooshes and lush suedes. Heel branding swaps out the usual Nike logos for FTC lettering.

Nike LeBron 8 “South Beach”

Release Date: July 21
Release Price: $200 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS and Sneaker Politics
Why You Should Cop: The wait is over. One of King James’ best footwear offerings to hit the market — the Nike LeBron 8 “South Beach” — is slated to make a comeback. It’s an exact recreation of the original from 2010 as the vivid teal uppers are accented with hot pink laces and black Swooshes, immediately evoking memories of the day James shook up the NBA and joined D-Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.

Nike Dunk Low “NY vs NY”

Release Date: July 22
Release Price: $100 USD
Where to Buy: Nike and Foot Locker
Why You Should Cop: New York is home to some of the most iconic streetball grounds in the world from Dyckman to Rucker Park to West 4th St. So to show affinity for these sacred courts, Nike has continued its NY vs NY series and cooked up this special Dunk Low colorway. Uppers alternate between olive green and white color-blocking while bursts of orange coat the Swooshes and NY insignias.

Off-White™ x Nike Air Zoom Tempo NEXT%

Release Date: July 23
Release Price: $260 USD
Where to Buy: Nike and Livestock
Why You Should Cop: Virgil Abloh and Nike are continuing their successful streak of collaborations with a three-pronged collection of the Air Zoom Tempo NEXT%. “Scream Green”, “Pink Glow” and “White/Solar” Red are on deck, all of white are decorated with oversized, hand painted-like Swooshes and bolstered with spiky outsoles in case you wanted to utilize them for the track.

Reebok Question Low “Phillies”

Release Date: July 23
Release Price: $120 USD
Where to Buy: Reebok
Why You Should Cop: Allen Iverson’s spent most of his illustrious career in Philadelphia, but instead of nodding to the Sixers, his newest Reebok Question Low pays homage to the Philadelphia Phillies franchise. Synergy is created on the uppers between bright blue suede mid-sections along with rich burgundy hues atop the heels and toe tips to honor the MLB squad’s retro uniforms.

Dime x Vans Wayvee

Release Date: July 24
Release Price: TBC
Where to Buy: Vans
Why You Should Cop: Montreal skate label Dime is reuniting with the folks at Vans to introduce a brand new silhouette titled the Wayvee. The past-meets-future skateboarding model features a low-cut profile, has see-through toe boxes and is bolstered with a DURACAP toe cap for hardcore skaters. Two colorways including a white/navy and a cream/white are included in this initial drop.

Air Jordan 12 “Twist”

Release Date: July 24
Release Price: $190 USD
Where to Buy: SNKRS and Foot Locker
Why You Should Cop: The Air Jordan 12 is scheduled to drop in a handful of new colorways throughout the rest of 2021, one of which is this “Twist” makeup. Chicago Bulls-esque colors are the focus of this iteration as mostly-white uppers are neighbored by eye stays and mid-foot overlays that see through to “Metallic Red” finishes. Stark black notes also get brought to the table along the spine and interior lining to complete its home uniform aesthetic.

AURALEE x New Balance 550

Release Date: July 25
Release Price: $180 USD
Where to Buy: AURALEE and END
Why You Should Cop: The New Balance 550 continues to make noise across the sneaker market for its striking collaborations and versatile look. And after seeing an initial Japan-only launch, AURALEE’s monochromatic offering is gearing up for its global release. From top to bottom, the kicks are dripped in a creamy tone that can pair well with anything that you’ve got in your closet all-year round.