After a highly anticipated wait, Virgil Abloh’s ‘the 50’ capsule is set to roll out from August 9th. Sneaker websites have teased the legendary collaboration between Nike and Off-White for a while, but finally, the first round of Dunks are ready to hit the community. As the name suggests, 50 alternate colourways of the Nike Dunk will release over time, with number 1 and number 50 due to drop any day now.
Although information around the pack is scarce, with many speculating when and where the Dunks will drop. Here is everything we know so far about Virgil’s ‘the 50’.
Off-White x Nike Dunk ‘the 50’.
The off-White x Nike Dunk ‘the 50’ capsule began as merely a rumour. Abloh had previously lent his incredible design talents to Nike on numerous projects, so the idea of producing 50 different Dunk silhouettes was not out of the realm of possibility. However, that rumour seemed to be semi-confirmed after leaked images of the Dunks were addressed by Abloh. He responded with “couldn’t pick this many bad colourways if I tried” to the leaked images. Fast-forward to today, and Nike has confirmed the entire pack via the SNKRS app. The official colourways were leaked alongside that confirmation, too.
The sneakers look to be composed of a variation of luxurious materials. Some of the 50 are crafted from leather, while a handful features buttery suede panels on the uppers instead. The finer details differentiate each silhouette perfectly.
Subtlety is key with the design of ‘the 50’. Insoles, zip ties, mountain climber shoelaces and tongues all feature in different colours on each shoe, helping to identify the sneaker. It has since been confirmed on the SNKRS app that the numbers on the midsole confirm colourway codes.
The ‘Other’ Two Colourways
Although 48 of the 50 have similar appearances upon first glance, two silhouettes are dropping that look one of a kind. Number 1 and 50 from the collection do not resemble the others. They draw clear inspiration from Virgil Ablohs Air Force 1 models released over the years. The white Dunk colourway shares similar aesthetics to the Off-White Air Force 100 F100. The black colourway could pass as the twin of the iconic triple black MoMA AF1 Virgil released back in 2017. The yin and yang of the pack, the sneakers come covered in their chosen primary colour and feature shiny, silver swooshes across the lateral and medial sides of the sneaker. The white version even features an intentionally aged sole unit, perfectly fitting with the current trends within the sneaker community.
Conclusion
Virgil Abloh continues his quest for world domination through design. ‘the 50’ looks to be a massive step in that direction. Rumours have surfaced that the idea behind ‘the 50’ releases is that they will be regional, meaning the different colourways across Dunks 2 to 49 represent a City across the globe.
If that is the case, the sneakers could hold sentimental meaning to the consumer. If one colourway is allocated to a location, we’re sure people will be trying to cop or swap other locations shoes. In turn, hype will build. We like this idea around ‘the 50’ more than some of the other rumours. The idea of swapping your Dunks for another location gives off a sense of nostalgia. (Who else remembers trading pokemon cards…).
Only time will tell, though, as Nike and Off-White ramp up the release of these legendary Dunks over the next few months.