The Nike Dunk trainer surged to popularity this year, breaking it’s way into mainstream fashion, rather than exclusively streetwear.
The shoe was originally introduced to be a college basketball trainer to now being described as “a shoe that’s not just your average inanimate object” by the late Virgil Abloh.
Some of this years colour-ways are shown below:
Nike also introduced a “move to zero” range of Dunks, using only sustainable materials to aim towards a more sustainable future.
The Dunk has become a low-key, often more accessible alternative to the ever-popular Jordan 1 sneaker, which to no one’s surprise continued to grow in popularity this year.
The popularity of the iconic Jordan 1 is reflected through their collaboration with Dior, where only 8500 trainers were made, but now sell for as much as £15,000 despite being released back in April 2020.
This year also saw the introduction and growth of “hype” shoe shops, such as Kick Game, who have expanded their stores from just London to now Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
But what can we expect to trend in 2022?
Speaking to @cultureforce (on Instagram and TikTok), “something that comes to my head quite quickly is after Virgil’s passing and following his super popular Off White x Dunks, which are quite crazy and colourful, I think we’re going to see more out there designs, a desire for more out there Dunks.”
“Not necessarily just Dunks, shoes in general, I think they’ll be a little bit more dramatic.”
He also mentioned the introduction of the New Balance 550s, which have “taken the limelight, because initially when they first came in they weren’t oversaturated but mimicked the silhouette of the Nike Dunk, so people who are a bit fed up with the Dunks and the Dunks hype, are keen to get on the New Balance hype and style it the same way as a Dunk.”
“Kanye is also dropping more Knit Runners, so that will be interesting to see how that evolves. We might even see the Yeezy comfort combined with that desire for the Nike Dunk to be a little bit more outrageous.”
Looking early into next year, we are set to see the release of a Supreme x Nike SB Dunk high (see below), although specific dates of release are yet to be confirmed.
The Sole Supplier suggests starting the year with “the hottest selling Nike kicks” with sneakers such as the Nike Air Force 1 or Air Max 90.
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