All Pump, No Fake: MSCHF and Reebok Team Up for Wild Pump Omni Zone IX Collab
Pump it up, and up, and up … and up.
When Joe Budden encouraged audiences to “Pump It Up” in 2003, he wasn’t talking about the wild Pump Omni Zone IX collaboration from MSCHF and Reebok, but he might as well have been. There’s never been a shoe that’s, well, so pumped. The merry band of Brooklyn-based misfits at MSCHF took the Pump’s name and signature technology quite literally, multiplying its signature tongue embellishment and spreading it across the entirety of the upper like basketball sneaker chicken pox for a unique tribute to a shoe — and a technology — made iconic by Dee Brown in the 1991 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Its inherently playful nature aside, the MSCHF x Reebok Pump Omni Zone IX is bursting at the seams with unique details. Arriving in a faux-aged “Sunbleached” colorway and a classic “White/Blue/Orange” makeup, the co-created sneaker features alternating branding on its Pump units: some read “The Pump” and others read “The MSCHF.” Besides the bouncing balls, the shoes also read “Boing Boing” on the heel and “Boing Boing Technology” on the midsole, continuing MSCHF’s fascination with “boing,” a noun that was also used in the press release for their Internet-breaking Big Red Boot back in February. A basketball lace deubre and a super-sized MSCHF outsole hit complete the look.
If you’re lookin’ to get your bounce on, both colors of the MSCHF x Reebok Pump Omni Zone IX are set to release on the MSCHF webstore and via the MSCHF Sneakers app via 24-hour draw come September 27. Each pair is priced at $250 USD. And, ironically enough, “Pump It Up” finally went gold just over three weeks ago. Serendipitous timing? You be the judge.
For more from the world of footwear be sure to check out the latest installment of Sole Mates, a weekly Hypebeast series that explores the relationship between notable individuals in street culture and their favorite sneakers.
