We’re all hypocrites. We all live our life on both sides of the coin; saying one thing one week, none of us are shy to go against our own word the next. It is this back and forth of life that we see represented in the new Nike Element react 55 via a unique ‘Yin & Yang’ black-and-white marbled colourway from Kendrick Lamar.
From Black Panther to DAMN. the Compton born artist has lent his hand, eye and soul to a selection of footwear by now, most notably his Nike designs. In 2018 he worked on a range of Cortez for Nike alongside Kung-Fu Kenny, breathing life into the model that had slipped out of the spotlight slightly over the years. Kenny and Kendrick brought the Cortez back into focus with the Cortez Slip on. But now it is time for the React Element 55 to receive some of Lamar’s unique styling.
“Got War & Peace inside my DNA”
Duality is key to the new colourway as the Yin & Yang elements take centre stage; black and white marbled tones are inverted on either side of each trainer. One marbled side more black than white, the other more white than black. This split upper sits atop some of Nike’s best trainer tech in the React tooling which is finished with the “Pure Platinum/Clear/Wolf Grey” colourway giving the rubber outsole a concrete street look. In a rare move for a Nike design the swoosh takes a back seat with a translucent finish whilst a smaller, all-black swoosh is included further towards the toe and on the heel pull tab.
The design has calls to Kendrick Lamar’s history and his future: his up and down relation with fame, nodding to his multi-platinum selling albums and a shout out to living in this current world where we are neither one thing nor the other.
Keep your eye on online trainers retailers as the new Kendrick Lamar Nike Element React 55 will drop on the 5th November.