Nike Presents the Doernbecher Freestyle XIX Collection
Featuring six new kid-designed projects themed around each patient’s journey and personality.
It’s been nearly two decades since Nike and Portland’s OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital teamed up for their first Doernbecher Freestyle collection. In the time since, the duo has raised over $33 million USD for the hospital as patient-designed collections release annually with 100% of profits donated to Doernbecher. For 2023, the Doernbecher Freestyle XIX Collection serves as the 19th entry in the series as patients Garrett Amerson, Macey Bodily, Hailey Leyva, Sydney Little, Hugo Covarrubias Molina and Christopher Musquiz Jr. have all designed footwear, apparel and equipment expressing both their journeys and personalities.
Earlier this week, the Hypebeast team reviewed the 100+ shoes created via the program thus far to assemble a recap of the most fun pairs to date and tonight, a complete unveiling of this year’s collection takes place with a special auction for pairs preceding a complete retail release scheduled for this December.
Nike ACG Mountain Fly 2 Low by Garrett Amerson
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12-year-old Garrett Amerson faced extreme prematurity as an infant — weighing just one pound and seven ounces after being born 15 weeks early. Despite this, his determined spirit has kept him charging forward as a science-loving, chess-playing kid. For his participation in the Doernbecher Freestyle program, he opted to pay homage to his Pacific Northwest (PNW) roots. Outfitting the Nike ACG Mountain Fly 2 Low, Amerson created a landscape that epitomizes the PNW. A green tree line with white clouds stretches across the shoe’s upper with brown splotches creating realistic textures emulating mud at the sole unit. The tongue further emphasizes the theme with a waterfall while the heel dons a yellow embroidered sun. A butterfly motif included at the tongue, upper and sockliner serves as a tribute to his twin brother who lost his life in the NICU. As for his complementary apparel, Amerson’s Windrunner Jacket nods to his most-wanted superpower — controlling the weather. A graphic depicting Zeus and thunder is on full-display at the back while his hat features his initials, “GLA,” at the back of his chess-themed design.
Nike Dunk High by Macey Bodily
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For Macey Bodily, “She believed she could, so she did” serves a motto for her life. A survivor of brain cancer, she worked with Nike and Doernbecher on the Nike Dunk High, preparing it in a flower-powered presentation that also connects to her love for baking. The pastel-colored sneaker utilizes an all-over floral pattern hand-painted by the 15-year-old across its overlays. A gray ribbon at the lateral heel nods to her status as a brain cancer survivor while her aforementioned motto is written in black at the midsole. Looking at the tongue, Bodily’s favorite dessert — a chocolate chip cookie — appears at the exterior while the interior lists her very-own cookie recipe. Going with her Dunk High, a Phoenix Fleece Hoodie again looks to her floral pattern, creating a Swoosh with it while her Crossbody Bag also connects to the theme with matching chenille detailing.
Nike Air Max 1 ‘86 by Hailey Leyva
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At the age of eight, Hailey Leyva has already undergone five surgeries to fix the valves of her heart. Honing in on this for her collection, Leyva reimagined the Nike Air Max 1 ‘86 and it comes with a special bracelet to be worn or added onto the shoe. The pink and white design is enlivened by shimmering gold Swooshes that reflect her sparkly personality. Five hearts hand-drawn by Leyva appear at the toe, representing each member of her family while the anatomical heart logo at the tongue was drawn by her doctor to explain the surgery process for her one-of-a-kind heart. At the midsole and laces, linework drawn by Leyva represents the calm of ocean waves. Looking closer at the bracelet that comes with the shoes, it features charms that nod to some of her favorite things, ranging from ice cream to rainbows. Pivoting to the apparel, the sleeves of her Club Fleece Hoodie are covered in her doodled, smiley-face heart patches with the aforementioned linework covering both it and the Backpack she designed.
Nike Cortez by Sydney Little
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A competitive swimmer and talented artist, 14-year-old Sydney Little battles juvenile idiopathic arthritis and doesn’t let it slow her down. She approached the Nike Cortez with positivity, aiming to brighten your day with her collection. A hand-drawn floral print created by Little features her favorite flower, the hibiscus, and is spread throughout the white and green colorway with squishy, glow-in-the-dark Swooshes present at each side of the shoe, referencing her love of water. The heel’s hook-and-loop material hosts patches that are also designed by her while the outsole utilizes a glow-in-the-dark finish that replicates the reflection of water in a pool. A Boxy Tee highlights the hibiscus in pink with one of her own paintings — a view of a beachside sunset — present at the back. Accompanying the tee, Sweatpants in white are highlighted by her “Keep Swimming” mantra.
Air Jordan 3 by Hugo Covarrubias Molina
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For Hugo “Juice” Covarrubias Molina, he’s realized that “It’s OK to be different.” Born with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome — a rare disorder that leads to one side of the body growing larger than the other — he used to be self-conscious of his appearance but has since learned to appreciate his uniqueness and wants others to do the same. A fan of the Seattle Seahawks, he spread the team’s navy and green across the Air Jordan 3. Equipped with a special drip design at the upper that nods to his “Juice” nickname, the shoe is packed with details such as the “It’s OK to be different” motto appearing at the translucent green outsole. Looking to the heel, a transparent Jumpman logo rests atop his logo with his nickname below it in gold. A fan of gold chains, he created his own gold-plated hangtag featuring his logo — which can also be used as a pendant on a necklace. At the inner tongue, woven patches serve as a place to list heroes. Molina lists both his mom and dad on the left shoe while the right shoe remains blank for the wearer to include their own heroes. His Jordan Flight Fleece Hoodie similarly utilizes the drip pattern while a two-tone pair of Sweatpants has been equipped with the theme as well.
Nike Go FlyEase by Christopher Musquiz Jr.
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14-year-old Christopher Musquiz Jr. lost his leg in an accident that involved a car hitting him on his morning bike ride to school, but he never lost his courage. In his collaboration with the Swoosh and Doernbecher, he tapped into his love for Japanese culture by creating his own pair of Nike Go FlyEases. A kimono-inspired wrap dresses the laceless upper with his ideal day recreated across the shoe. This dream day would take place at a beach, represented by the upper’s wave pattern. Mt. Fuji is nodded to at the tongue while his happy place is further detailed at the lining where him and his favorite animal — a panda — are hanging out at the beach. A “smarter thank you think” phrase hits the portal-themed sockliner that leads him to the aforementioned dream day to complete the pair. Concluding the collection with apparel, he looked to his favorite football team — the Las Vegas Raiders — to inform the black and gray used while the “Dude” name at the back of his Game Jersey nods to the nickname that his grandpa calls him. As for his cap, he’s been reanimated in the style of his favorite video game at the front of it, doing a stiff-arm pose with his favorite food — an enchilada — in his hand.
