Nike x Sacai ongoing collaborators
Sportswear tycoon Nike and Tokyo based high fashion label Sacai are no strangers to collaboration. With Sacai having previously worked with NikeLab as far back as 2015 on a capsule that contained re-imagined takes on both the Air Max 90 and Nike Dunk silhouette. So, when rumours began to circulate in the back end of 2018 that Chitose Abe founder of Sacai was back creating with Nike it definitely peaked people’s interest. The only difference being I don’t think anyone could have predicted what their latest collaborative project was going to look like. When imagery finally debuted in early 2019 of the latest Nike Sacai project it made an instant impact.
The images showed a two-silhouette, four-colourway capsule, similar in format to their 2015 project. Make no mistake about it however, that is where the similarities ended. The models in questions were perhaps not obvious choices for 2019. Pulled from the Nike archive Chitose Abe decided to utilise some of the elder statesmen of the Nike catalogue. The Nike Blazer Mid which debuted in 1973, and a combination of the Waffle Daybreak and LDV. The end result was met with serious fanfare, and has been touted as an early contender for shoe of the year. Highly exclusive, and incredibly coveted, the two silhouettes are currently trading way above retail on the secondary market. Quickly establishing icon status in the upper echelons of footwear fashion.
New colourways for the Nike Sacai silhouettes
Naturally with most collections, when they are met with success the pressure and expectation is on designers to extend the portfolio. We have previously seen this from 2018’s “shoe of the year” the Nike React Element 87. Which has since seen a multitude of colourways drop in the wake of its success. Similarly on September 5th Nike Sacai will be dropping three new colourways for the Nike x Sacai LDV Waffle Daybreak. Two of which are monochromatic variants, while the partnership also brings a colourful design more in keeping with the original two which dropped earlier in the year.
The official colours are reported as grey, black and green/pink, and are expected to retail in very limited quantities at £140. Also in the pipeline is a matching black colourway for the Nike Sacai Blazer Mid. Only difference being we are yet to get an official release date for the pair. With sources online only able to confirm its expected drop to be sometime in September.
Luxe Accessories dropping for Sacai collection
We first saw the LDV Waffle Daybreak and Blazer Mid designs from Sacai strutting down the runways of Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter. Which were accentuated at the time by a plethora of Luxe accessories, and although we were gifted the release of the shoes, until now we were in the dark about the release of the Luxe accessories that played a supporting role. If you are looking to get hold of these items, capable of personalising your shoes look, then you need to fish out your rabbit’s foot, and four-leaf clover because they are going to be pretty rare. The accessories will exclusively be available at the Sacai Aoyama flagship store as well as the Sacai online trainers store. With the fur patches dropping on September 13th. While the zipper closures will launch on September 19th.
Nike Unveils Naomi Osaka’s Sacai look for US open
Current world No.1 Naomo Osaka will be bracing Flushing, Queens NY for the US Open. She will be the first athlete ever to wear performance apparel born out of the Nike Sacai partnership. The look features a double-layer skirt atop a bodysuit, for a play on the classic tennis dress look. The brand celebrated the collaboration with a pop-up entitled “Queens of the Future.” The event gathered top tennis players Markéta Vondroušová, Elina Svitolina, Madison Keys, Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka, Petra Kvitová, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, Sloane Stephens, Osaka and Serena Williams. All of whom wore Nike apparel.
Osaka first signed with Nike in April of this year, after rumors swirled that she was entertaining a deal with Adidas. Now 21, Osaka is the first Japanese-born player to reach the top ranking in singles tennis.
