FIRST ENVISIONED FOR BASKETBALL...

1985: Nike was then barely 10 years old and the basketball is rapidly gaining momentum to become the sport of choice in the United States. The development teams of the American firm are therefore looking for a way to take advantage of the popularity of this sport and, in the same year, market the legendary Air Jordan 1 as well as the Nike Dunk. These two models, still today at the forefront of the sneakers scene, have gone through very different paths...

If the very popular Nike Blazer, Nike Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1 The Nike Dunk, mentioned above, are the three main pillars of basketball, the Nike Dunk is not really considered as a reference model. And yet, it was initially designed to practice on the Court. In 1985, Nike unveiled a well-crafted advertising campaign called... Be True To Your School The event was held at the University of Toronto, in which 12 university basketball teams were honoured with a package including a Dunk and complete uniforms in the schools' colours. To name only the most famous, this is how the university players St John's, Syracuse, Kentucky or Michigan were awarded official Nike equipment, which basketball fans could find in a list of a few approved stores.

Although the Dunk didn't immediately have an impact on popular culture, unlike the Air Jordan 1, which was an immediate success, the launch strategy will bear fruit in the years to come as retro music becomes more and more popular.

... THEN ADOPTED BY SKATERS

Soon after its debut, Dunk spread beyond the basketball culture when the skateboard community adopted the model in a completely natural way, for its technical specificities. Indeed, the 1985 silhouette has all the performance characteristics to practice skateboarding, namely maximum lateral support, increased cushioning and special traction to pivot with ease. For versatility and comfort, Nike introduced a nylon padded tongue between 1998 and 2000, further enhancing the appeal of this shoe.

In 2002 and after studying the needs of skateboarding enthusiasts, the Swoosh brand introduced the division Nike SB The company offers a range of products especially dedicated to this sport. The brand thus offers Dunk with padding and traction specially designed to meet the requirements of the terrain. And what could be better to highlight this new division? Exclusive releases with the names of four popular skaters: this is how the versions Reese Forbes, Danny Supa, Gino Lannucci and Richard Mulder have become mythical iterations of the model and therefore highly coveted by sneaker enthusiasts. But also and above all, how can we not evoke the Nike Dunk SB Low Staple NYC Pigeon In 2005, she had been the subject of much media attention. This was due to the riots caused during its extremely limited release in the shop of Designer Jeff Staple, who had then put his Pigeon logo on this iteration, which remains and will remain an icon in the world of sneakers.

TO BECOME A PILLAR OF SNEAKER FASHION AND CULTURE.

With its history straddling the basketball and skateboarding worlds, the Dunk has become much more than Nike had hoped for at the time. More than being a reference model in the basketball universe, the Dunk is a piece of history the Swoosh brand that brings together and energizes fashion, sport and sneaker culture.

And to keep the Dunk alive over the years, Nike offers retro outfits such as the re-release of the pack Be True To Your School based on the model Low, where we were able to track down the university colorways of St. Johns, Syracuse and Kentucky, Michigan and Iowa.

On the High Fashion side, we were able to discover, in an unprecedented way, a Nike Dunk High Ambush Black White during the Fashion Week in New York. But other actors such as Virgil Abloh have managed to take the Nike Dunk to a whole new level. One of the most successful strokes of genius by the founder of Off-White with its collection "The 50". The principle is simple: offer 50 variations of the Nike Dunk and this via an exclusive access system via the SNKRS.