Rick Owens Got Served a Cease and Desist by Nike Way Before Warren Lotas

If you’re a sneakerhead that’s been following recent events, we’re sure that you’ve already heard about Warren Lotas and his antics involving the popular Nike Dunk silhouette. The Los Angeles-based sneaker and streetwear designer recently launched his take on Jeff Staple’s iconic Pigeon Dunk and he was quickly served a cease and desist by Nike.

While we’re not at all surprised by what happened there (his version was strikingly similar to the OG Nike release from 2005), it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time this has happened in the sneaker world, in fact, it happened previously to a high-profile fashion designer we’re sure many of you are already aware of.

Rick Owens. None other than the dark-lord of high fashion himself, he’s probably not the first man to spring to mind when thinking about sneakers. Well, turns out the man himself is actually pretty damn good at making sneakers, he has a hugely-successful own-brand range as well as collaborative projects over the years with adidas, Veja and many more!

Back in 2006, Rick was gearing up to launch a brand-new sneaker silhouette which we now know as the Geobasket. The popular style we know today however differed greatly to the original silhouette which launched for a brief period of time back then, with there being a specific reason as to why they never made it past the early stages.

Like many designers do, Rick Owens looked back into the archives of successful footwear models when designing his latest venture, although it ended up looking a little too similar to none other than the Nike Dunk. The OG Geobasket release showcases a panel down the lateral sides that Nike quickly decided was way too close to a Swoosh, swiftly sending a cease and desist to the American fashion designer.

Thankfully, the Rick Owens label stopped production of the original Geobasket almost instantly, with rumours even circulating that Rick himself took the lawsuit as a form of flattery, or “like a boss” as some might say! The designer set to work on a new version without the “Swoosh”, which are actually still mass-produced to this day and successful in their own right.

The original cease and desist Geobaskets have been nicknamed “Rick Owens Dunks” in recent years by high-fashion fans and those in the know and are actually surprisingly in-demand still. Maybe it’s due to the elusiveness of the model, but they now resell for astonishingly high prices and have been worn by those such as Virgil Abloh and ASAP Rocky to high-profile events, sending prices skyrocketing even higher!

If you’re looking to cop a pair today, your best bet will be the resell market, with tracking down a pair just as hard as affording a pair in the first place! Meanwhile there’s plenty of actual Dunks on the way from Nike this season, so maybe set your heart on a pair of those instead!