The Best Sneaker and Streetwear Collaborations of All-Time

Collaborations in the sneaker and streetwear community have become more prominent in this day and age.

Some notable collaborations include works from Virgil Abloh and his Off-White x Nike Dunk "THE 50" or the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1s, Kanye West's adidas Yeezy collection, and co-branded New Balance trainers from New Balance trainers, thisisneverthat, and far more.

Whether or not you are new to the sneaker and streetwear scene, we have no doubts that there are collabs you have either missed or forgotten. In this list, you can find more about the best sneaker and streetwear collaborations of all time!

Let's start with a collaboration familiar to old-school streetwear aficionados and the modern-day audience — the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk series.

Before the Beaverton sportswear giant released the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low in 2021 that consisted of star-embellished pairs in four colourways, the original ensemble from 2003 featured three high-top Dunks.

The Nike Dunk silhouette is the go-to lifestyle shoe today, gaining an incredible amount of attention since its return to the footwear industry in 2019. The Supreme x Nike Dunk High Pro SB were available in "University Red", "Syracuse Orange", and "UNC Blue" colourways, all sporting their respective hues atop a crisp white leather base with a plethora of gold stars printed across the quarter panels. Supreme-branded lace dubraes, also in gold, rounded off the design with a signature touch.

Supreme New York and A Bathing Ape are acknowledged as legendary icons in the streetwear scene and have always been since the early '90s. Though a rivalry between them is somewhat apparent as most people would agree — luring in the audience with their respective aesthetics — both labels have collaborated in the past to bring forth the ultimate grail piece.

From the late '90s to the early 2000s, the two streetwear powerhouses merged the iconic Supreme Box Logo and famous BAPE camouflage graphics into one. Getting your hands on legit Supreme x BAPE Camo Box Logo tees is near enough impossible, let alone finding one in good condition, and if you do ever find one, expect the price to be sky-high.

Every sneakerhead would agree that Kanye West is ill-famed for his ever-growing collection of Yeezy trainers that are all the rage these days. But before the renowned American rapper and fashion guru joined the Trefoil family to dominate the streets with Boost-cushioned shoes, Ye joined forces with NIGO's A Bathing Ape for a Kanye West x A Bathing Ape Bapesta "College Dropout" collaboration in 2007.

The streetwear and sneaker community has a love and hate relationship with the Bapesta silhouette. Why? It's deemed a replica of the iconic Nike Air Force 1—bearing the same construction except Nike branding details withdrawn in favour of BAPE motifs. Ye blessed BAPE's signature kicks with a colourway that pays homage to his "The College Dropout" album produced by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings in 2004. Even Kanye's famous bear mascot makes an appearance, printed on the lateral heels.

2017 saw Virgil Abloh's Off-White x Nike "The Ten"—undeniably one of the most coveted releases to date. The project consisted of ten of Nike's iconic shoes, with a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star included, all deconstructed and revamped with Off-White signature motifs, notably the symbolic zip-tie tags.

The initial set dubbed the "REVEALING" offered five pairs: the Off-White Air Jordan 1, Air Max 90, Air Presto, Air VaporMax, and Blazer Mid. The "GHOSTING" ensemble that followed delivered the Off White Air Force 1, Air Max 97, Zoom Vaporfly, React Hyperdunk, and Converse Chuck Taylors.

In addition, Abloh and the Swoosh team reached out to Rosie Lee Creative Studio in London to host the "OFF-CAMPUS" event that featured exclusive creative workshops allowing attendees to customise their own AF-1 Low, vintage Nike t-shirts, and much more.

Are Nike and adidas rivals?—this shouldn't even be a question. Both sportswear powerhouses have been competing for as long as anyone could remember. While the Swoosh brand has Supreme on their side, the Three Stripes have Palace on theirs. Much like Supreme, Palace is a skateboarding imprint also, founded in 2009 by Levent Tanju and his skate crew. The skate brand became known for its famous Penrose triangle logo titled the "Tri-Ferg".

In 2013, Palace blessed its audience with a footwear collaboration from the adidas-owned brand Reebok, so it was no surprise that the Tri-Ferg and Three Stripes would eventually merge. The Palace x adidas Palace Pro Trainers in 2015 marked their alliance, and many more collaborative launches that included shoes, clothing, and accessories followed after.

After Kanye West parted ways with the Swoosh residence in 2013 and left his Nike Air Yeezy models to be archived, adidas welcomed Ye with open arms. The partner brought life to the artist's Yeezy series that offer insanely comfortable adidas shoes that have become a must-have in every sneaker collection.

The partner debuted the adidas Yeezy Boost 750 in February 2015—a high-top, suede-coated sneaker with side zips, a forefoot strap, and a full-length adidas Boost midsole underneath. The Yeezy Boost 350 then arrived in June the same with the "Turtle Dove" as its inaugural colourway, followed by the "Pirate Black", "Moonrock", and the "Oxford Tan". Fast forward to the present day—the Yeezy Boost 350 V2 are now available in countless colourways—as well as many other models like the Yeezy Boost 380, Yeezy 450, Yeezy 500, Yeezy Boost 700, Yeezy Slide, and Yeezy Foam Runner.

The rise of streetwear and sneaker culture is phenomenal, especially during the past couple of years where the audience, including the younger generation, are captivated by the trends they see on social media—video sharing platform TikTok being highly responsible for the drastic change in the sneaker scene being highly responsible for the drastic change in the sneaker scene. At this point, people are no longer strangers to collaborations. The line between streetwear and high-end labels has become blurred as we see co-branded offerings like the Dior x Stüssy Fall 2020 collection.

Kim Jones (current director of Dior Homme) allied with Shawn Stussy and his legendary eponymous skatewear brand to add a playful touch to Dior's Fall 2020 lineup. The offering presented the French luxury house's signature pieces with Stüssy's artsy graphics, including the Dior B23 high-top shoes, Dior Saddle Bag, and far more clothing and accessories.

Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo's label COMME des GARÇONS, also known as CDG, has a strong presence on the streets, much like Stüssy. Both brands are available at Dover Street Market retail stores globally and have collaborated plenty of times in the past for DSM exclusive releases.

On that note, CDG commemorated Stüssy's 40th anniversary by releasing a co-branded varsity jacket in early 2020. An assortment of clothing then followed much later on for the fall/winter season that featured graphic t-shirts and an MA-1 bomber jacket.

You might think that Nike took a big L when Kanye left in 2013. But in 2017, the Swoosh team made a huge comeback when Houston-born rapper Travis Scott joined the family and designed the Travis Scott x Nike Air Force 1 “AF100” to celebrate the classic Nike Air Force 1's 35th anniversary.

That release marked the first instalment of their partnership and also a nod to La Flame's entry into the world of streetwear. Since then, the Travis Scott x Nike collection has expanded massively, even taking on popular models such as the Travis Scott x Nike SB Dunk Low 'Cactus Jack' and some of Michael Jordan's ever-famous basketball trainers: the Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 4, and Air Jordan 6.

The most recent offering from the rapper-slash-fashion icon and Nike includes Hiroshi Fujiwara's fragment design, making it a three-way collaboration. The Travis Scott x fragment design x Air Jordan 1 High and Air Jordan 1 Low arrive in blue, black, white, and cream colours, with both pairs housing fragment design's double lightning bolt emblem and Travis Scott's reverse Swoosh logo and Cactus Jack emoji.

The Maison Kitsuné x ADER Error collaboration highly deserves a special mention. Joint projects between Korean streetwear brands and international labels are not as present as you think they would be, mainly due to the brand's popularity. But for Seoul-based streetwear staple ADER Error, who has become notorious worldwide for their bold oversized pieces and their anonymous design team, landing a partnership with the French-Japanese music and fashion imprint Maison Kitsuné is child's play.

The first collection in 2018 combined signature ADER motifs and Maison Kitsuné's iconic fox character together. The duo united in 2019 and delivered the Maison Kitsuné x ADER Error "The Blue Fox Family", then again in 2020 with the "The Bluest Fox" collection. This partnership undeniably opened the door to opportunities for other Korean streetwear brands.

Speaking of Korean brands, the hype surrounding Korean culture has risen significantly over the recent years — with K-pop and K-fashion undeniably at the helm. In 2019, legendary Big Bang member G-Dragon (famously known as the king of K-pop) teamed up with the Swoosh for a Nike Air Force 1 collaboration under his PEACEMINUSONE streetwear brand.

The PEACEMINUSONE x Nike Air Force 1 collaboration features a leather upper that reveals GD's signature art behind when it wears away or is chipped off manually. It arrived in two colourways titled "Para Noise". The black pair dropped in 2019, and the white version the year after.

G-Dragon's latest Nike shoes is the Kwondo 1, a brogue shoe-inspired shoe.

All in all, this list only covers a small bunch, and there are still hundreds of iconic and memorable collaborations out there that deserves praise. So if you do not want to miss out on the best sneaker news, as well as streetwear releases, then I suggest you check back with us here at The Sole Supplier for all the latest!