Here is why 2020 is the year of the Nike Dunk

The Nike Dunk is no doubt the winner of this year's Best Sneaker title.

This is confirmed by the various collaborations, re-editions and the great attention on the shoe that has been created above all on social media. It seems almost impossible, in fact, to think of browsing the Instagram feed in these months without seeing some Nike Dunks appear.

On the one hand, the great return of the silhouette designed in 1985 had long been announced, but within the sneaker community some doubts remained about how large the scale of the phenomenon could be. A huge contribute to the "Dunk invasion" certainly is thanks to Travis Scott's passion - captured on several occasions wearing some great classic pairs in the history of Nike Dunk and Nike SB - and the collaboration between Nike and Off-White that sees the silhouette as a key protagonist.

Why are the Nike Dunks so important for the sneakers culture?

The 80s mark the origin of the myth, the years when the majority of silhouettes that are now considered icons were created and released. The Nike Dunk was born in this context drawing inspiration from models such as Air Force 1, Air Jordan I and Nike Terminator.

The sole recalls the one of Air Jordan I, the upper takes inspiration from Air Jordan I and Nike Terminator and is considered the younger sister of Air Force 1, launched on the market only three years earlier.

Although it was designed as a basketball shoe, the skate universe was soon struck by the silhouette and began to use it. To meet the needs of skaters, Nike began to introduce a padded tongue between '98 and '00 to facilitate movement. A few years later, in 2002 the Nike Dunk SB was released, a reinterpretation of the Nike Dunk able to adapt better to the needs of new consumers and the skate community.

And this is where the myth originates: the collaborations that came to life during those years and that saw the Dunk SB as the main protagonist, became the object of the desire of many sneaker-heads around the world. In particular, it is with the Nike Dunk SB Staple Pigeon that the sneaker culture ends up on the newspaper pages (literally!), following the several incidents that occurred for the launch of the sneaker.

The colorways

Nike Dunk has always been playing with colors. During the summer of 1985 Nike released the "Be True to Your School" pack, giving everyone the opportunity to wear the colors of their favorite basketball team from head to toe. Dunk was the star of the College Colors program, introducing vibrant colors to the basketball court for the first time.

From the court to the bowl, the Dunks have never stopped being a real canvas to experiment with different combinations of color and pattern. The various collaborations that have seen them as protagonists over the years have added new colors, materials, fabrics and details, paying tributes to various artists, cities, stores, cartoons, films, etc.

Among the infinite colorways created, different pastel shades stand out, recently becoming the new obsession of the Instagram & sneakers addicted.

Accounts like @sneakerdenn shows more or less known models of the past, opening the doors to the vintage and second hand market.

Given the interest generated for these pastel shades, despite a dense release calendar that sees the Nike Dunk as protagonists, it seems - according to @py_rates_- that Nike will release a whole pack of Dunk Low for the female audience in 2021.

Nike Dunk Sky Hi

However, this will not be the first time that Dunk addresses the female audience. Between 2013 and 2014 in fact, the Nike Dunk Sky Hi became the object of desire of many girls.

The strange Dunk that hid an unusual wedge inside, represented the compromise shoe for all women who in the morning could not choose between wearing heels or sneakers. Its ambiguous charm also conquered many celebrities and was part of the dark trend of Wedge Sneakers made popular also by designers such as Isabel Marant and Marc Jacobs.