NikeSKIMS Is Dropping a Waffle Racer Collection, and It Keeps the Original Untouched

Name:  NikeSKIMS Waffle Racer Collection
Colorway: Baroque Brown, Light Bone/Varsity Red, Thunder Blue
SKU: IW3882-400, IW3882-200, IW3882-002
MSRP: $130 USD
Release Date: November 10
Where to Buy: NikeSKIMS

Kim Kardashian and Nike‘s ongoing NikeSKIMS is taking on the Nike Waffle Racer for its next footwear project, moving from the reworked Air Rift to a far more traditional silhouette. The women’s-exclusive capsule arrives in three colorways and, unlike the partnership’s earlier sneaker, leaves the archival runner’s design almost entirely as it was.

The biggest design decision here is a deliberate hands-off approach. Where NikeSKIMS reshaped the Air Rift’s split-toe build to fit its own aesthetic, the Waffle Racer keeps the proportions and construction of the running shoe as it existed in the late 1970s. The result is a capsule built around restraint, giving the collaboration’s fans a version of the shoe that stays true to the original.

That restraint puts the focus on color. “Baroque Brown” goes for a deep, earthy look, “Light Bone/Varsity Red” uses a classic collegiate-style contrast, and “Thunder Blue” works in a saturated single tone. Together, the three colorways put the shoe in the same slim, retro-runner territory as the Jacquemus Moon Shoe, a style that has become a regular fixture in fashion-led wardrobes.

The collaboration details are deliberately minimal on the shoe itself. Co-branding is limited to the tongue label, leaving the upper free of extra logos or graphics. Most of the special treatment goes into the packaging instead, with a dedicated shoe box, a dust bag and an extra set of laces shown for the release, setting the trio apart from general-release Waffle Racers.

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