Our Top 6 Stüssy x Nike Collaborations

Arguably one of the most popular and adored streetwear brands of all time, Stüssy was first launched in 1980 by Shawn Stüssy and quickly became the fashion and streetwear powerhouse that it is today. With Nike being the biggest sportswear company in the world, it’s only right that these two brands join forces on a regular basis to create sick collabs and unstoppable, hyped sneaker releases. The first partnership between the Swoosh Brand and a streetwear company, this partnership started the long wave of collaborations that we’ve seen over the last twenty years. Can you imagine Nike without collaborations? No Aleali May, no AMBUSH, no UNDEFEATED, no Off-White, and most relevant to this piece, no Stüssy. Well, the Californian brand started this trend. The new millennium meant trying new things, and for Nike, this meant getting creative influence from outsiders to produce sneakers that could appeal to a wider range of fans from both the sneaker and streetwear spheres.

When thinking of the shoe that started it all, it’s not quite the collaboration that people expect to see today. Released by Nike in 2000, the streetwear brand quickly adopted the tan and earthy tones as their own and were able to release the Nike Air Huarache LE as a Stüssy in-store exclusive. Though not technically a collaboration, people still refer to this sneaker as the one that started the partnership wave - and we’re so glad that they did. Nike were making moves, and were able to turn their largely sportswear-based/running shoe brand into something that added a little bit more. Part of the appeal was the limited quantities these shoes were produced in. Hard to find then, even harder to find now. Luckily the brands came together again and re-released this shoe in 2021, and boy did they fly. This year did see the Huarache wave return, so it’s only right that we got the opportunity to add these to our collection once again.

They say fashion is cyclical, and this is certainly true when you consider Nike approached Stüssy one year after the unofficial collaboration for a *real* collaboration on a pair of Dunk Highs. Now, 2021 has seen its fair share of Dunks, so along with the Huarache it's been a year that celebrates the beginning of the early ‘00s. Stüssy themselves consider this to be the first time Nike collaborated with a clothing company, and these Dunks are so exciting when you consider the use of new things like the ostrich print on the tan Swoosh and snakeskin on the black and white pair. The limited-edition approach didn’t slow down either. These Dunks were available in only four Stüssy stores across the globe, and each retailer dropped twelve of each colourway per day, until they sold out. Mad numbers when you consider how sneakers now sell in their thousands.

One of the best Stüssy x Nike releases of all time (if not THE best), Stüssy took the world by storm in a time when SB Dunks were the hottest kick of the moment. The beginning of the century started to bridge the gap between streetwear and sneakers meaning they became one in the same, but the release of high-heat and limited-edition SB Dunks really made this official. Coming in smooth brown, pink and cream leathers, this SB Dunk takes on a Neapolitan approach and even finishes up with a cherry on top. Even the likes of Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner have been spotted in these, making them all the more popular.

To celebrate twenty years of the Nike Air Max 95 and 35 years of Stüssy, the two brands teamed up to release a series of AM95s: one green, one black and one navy. Featuring Stüssy branding on the top of the tongue, the rest of the spine-inspired 95 was constructed with a suede and nylon upper for that extra premium touch. It also harked back to the first release, as the neoprene tongue is very similar to that of the Huarache from fifteen years before.

The Stüssy x Zoom Spiridon Caged 2 brought the Steven Smith-designed silhouette from 2003 back into the forefront of people’s minds. The shoe didn’t initially make waves when it first released, but the 2020 drop changed things for good. Constructed with a material that is used later on by the partners again, the Spiridon Caged 2 was made from hemp, resulting in them being more sustainable than other styles on the market. Everyone fell in love with this release and really made Stüssy x Nike what it is in modern times. Fashion-forward and equally as wearable, this drop set the tone for 2020 and thanks to the easily customisable upper, was seriously popular amongst Instagram influencers.

One of the best silhouettes from the Swoosh Brand, the Air Force 1 was practically begging for a Stüssy makeover. Following the Spiridon release, this pair of Forces also came in constructed with hemp and made for an amazingly easy-to-dye sneaker. The brands even recognised this and teamed up with Los Angeles-based Lookout & Wonderland to release special-edition, natural dye sneakers in a number of colourways, all of which were dyed by hand. One of the best vegan trainers on the market, it was good to see plant-based dyes used for this experiment too. The dyes were to represent each of the World Tour cities, linking to the Dunk Highs the collaboration dropped in 2006. Branding we had seen before also featured on these, with the Stüssy logo badge sitting on the fur heel tab and at the top of the tongue.