Latest news with #AirMax95s
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Nike fans brave sleepless queue for Air Max 95s – and all have same plan after
People have been lining the streets of Liverpool city centre for hours in the hope of getting their hands on Nike's new Air Max 95s - known to some as 110s - ahead of their release this morning Massive queues started forming yesterday outside JD Sports in Liverpool, with some people waiting up to 15 hours overnight as they waited to get their hands on Nike's new Air Max 95s, known to some as 110s. Some people even brought tents and camping equipment to the Liverpool One shopping centre as they readied themselves for an overnight stay. They were hoping to get their hands on the new Nike Mandarin trainers this morning when the shop opened at 8am. Based on the 1987 edition, which saw the birth of the Air Max lineage, the 'Bright Mandarin' colourway is meant to celebrate "30 years of the iconic silhouette". Sneakerheads sat out in the pouring rain to get their hands on the £174.99 trainers. Dain McCarron, 25, the Liverpool Echo that he travelled more than three hours from Cumbria to get to the Liverpool city centre store in a bid to get his hands on the trainers. Images showed the line had stretched several metres around the building with many people in the queue claiming they had "not slept". Fortunately for some, they managed to bag a pair of the new 110s and were beaming as they walked out of the store this morning. Daine McCarron, Aaron Farnworth, Jack Henshaw and Leighton Hodgkinson were some of the first people to get their hands on the trainers. They told the Liverpool Echo they were "made up" and would be heading straight to bed when they got back home. Stocks have already sold out online and are only being sold in a few stores in the UK. The locations in the UK where people could buy the 110s are spread out across the country. Originally released in 2011, the bold mandarin colourway of the Air Max 95 shoe honours the legacy of designer Sergio Lozano's bold and anatomical design vision. Alongside the release today, Nike also surprised fans with the 'Reverse Neon' edition - flipping the classic OG colourway and highlighting the Air Max 95's design evolution over the decades. The Nike website says: "Big. Bold. Bounce. To celebrate 30 years of the iconic silhouette, the Air Max family is welcoming back the 'Big Bubble' edition of the 95. With a design that stays true to the original, this iteration stacks the upper with rippling layers of synthetic leather and airy mesh that gradually fade from black to white. "Pops of Bright Mandarin accentuate the lace loops, branding and Air units. Elevate your style with a little more Air and enjoy the future of your Air Max journey." Industry publication the Sole Supplier offered trainer fans some tips on how to get their hands on the shoes for the June 6 release date. They said: "With such low stock numbers though we'd recommend heading down as early as possible and maybe even camping out for your best chance." Store List: London - Stratford London - Oxford Street Manchester - Arndale Manchester - Trafford Centre Glasgow - Argyle Street Liverpool - Liverpool ONE
Hypebeast
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
First Look at Levi's Upcoming Nike Air Max 95 Sneakers and Apparel Collaboration
It looks like there's a new collaboration on the way between the classic American denim labelLevi'sandNike. Revealed onLil Yachty's finsta, the rapper revealed three pairs of denim-constructedNike Air Max 95s as well as a full light wash denim trousers and jacket set featuring the Nike branding. The much-anticipated collaboration features the Air Max 95 with denim uppers in three colors — 'Sail,' 'Indigo' and 'Black.' As seen on thefinsta, each pair features denim details throughout the upper including the overlays that mimic the structure of the human anatomy. The insoles look to be in a bold varsity red to match the extra set of laces that come with the shoe. Each shoe's tongue branding coincides with the pair's colorway for the monochromatic look. It is uncertain if other colors will be made available down the line. In anotherimage, Yachty can be seen wearing a light wash denim set of baggy jeans and a cropped box cut denim jacket. Both the pants and the jacket feature the classic Nike Swoosh branding in white, signalling that the upcoming collaboration will extend beyond just footwear. There is currently no confirmation on when this collaboration will release.
Business of Fashion
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Product Drops Are Fashion's New Can't-Miss Events
Last Saturday morning, 1,000 frenzied customers rushed to form a line outside a middle school in East Harlem, some tossing aside rented Citi Bikes with the fare meters still running to get a ticket to enter a classroom that had been taken over by UK streetwear label Corteiz. They were there for the brand's latest collaboration with Nike, anchored by a pair of yellow and black Air Max 95s — the 'Honey Blacks' — that would exclusively be sold in-person at one-day pop-ups in London and New York City. Corteiz only revealed the New York pop-up's location that morning through clues on its social media accounts, first sending people to a group of school buses parked on the west side of Harlem where 250 numbered tickets for the first spots on line were distributed. An hour later, it unveiled the actual location of the pop-up — three miles away — where the last 750 tickets could be claimed. 'This is really how it should be. It's supposed to be fun,' said Dali J., a 40-year-old sneaker collector who woke up at 6 a.m. to drive to Harlem from her home in Connecticut nearly 85 miles away. 'That experience is what they want to bring back.' Corteiz sent followers on a chase to find a secret pop-up that was set-up inside the classroom of a middle school in East Harlem. (Jordan Keyser/Jordan Keyser) Gamified shopping experiences have been embedded within consumer culture since Willy Wonka's 'golden ticket' and cereal box sweepstakes, but these tactics are getting fresh updates and resonating with young fashion consumers who are seeking deeper connections with brands beyond just clicking check-out or walking to the register. James Davis, a former strategy director for Highsnobiety who addresses the crossover between fashion and gaming with his consultancy Drawn Distant, believes the rise of gamified drops is also part of a larger ripple effect created by the pandemic-era gaming boom. Outside of fashion, gaming's permeation of pop culture has led to the meteoric rise of Twitch streamers like Kai Cenat and new modern slang terms such as 'NPC' or 'side quest.' While streetwear and sneaker labels are among those at the forefront of adopting gamification, they're joined by a number of other brands, including beauty companies like Glossier and Topicals, which have been running a series of events it calls 'Faded Fortune' across the US and UK in which participants can win prizes. They illustrate another benefit of gamification: It makes for great online content. 'We live in a social world and people love being able to share what they're doing,' said Topicals' head of brand Abiola Babarinde. 'So how can we give you an experience that you wouldn't have experienced elsewhere and do things that feel a bit outlandish and stand out?' Game On The desire for gamified drops is particularly strong among streetwear and sneaker customers raised off the lore of hyped in-person releases such as camp-outs in front of Supreme stores or the famed 2005 release of Jeff Staple's 'Pigeon' Nike SB Dunk, which caused enough of a commotion that police had to be called out. Many of them, however, have grown tired of the standard drop model. 'The customer just got bored and exhausted,' said Jessica Ramírez, co-founder of retail advisory firm The Consumer Collective. 'Gamification taps into how consumers perceive the brand and why it's so memorable to them, and that's actually a bit stickier than these regular drops that we've seen for so long.' Nike's collaboration with Corteiz follows other gamified sneaker drops. (Jordan Keyser/Jordan Keyser) Nike has been reorienting its drop model around gamification as it seeks to rebuild lost brand heat. Last week, it introduced 'SNKRS Link,' a new online release model that only lets customers access certain Nike releases through a unique link that could be shared through unique access points such as a Nike collaborator's social media page or a QR code posted at a pop-up. In February, a Tomb Raider-inspired Air Max 1 sneaker release tied to Nike's web3 project, .Swoosh, asked customers to complete a set of word puzzles to gain access to the drop. Other sneakers brands have followed in Nike's footsteps. In January, New Balance released a collaboration with sneaker customiser that asked customers on release day to head to an abruptly announced location where, in true Wonka fashion, a golden ticket inside a chocolate bar would grant them access to the release. In March, Puma stashed 40 tokens throughout London for customers to find and exchange for items from its ongoing collaboration with UK rapper Skepta. And in April, Kith set up a soccer-themed activation in New York City's Grand Central station to promote its Adidas collaboration that invited the public to successfully score on a real goalie and win a pair of sneakers. Corteiz founder Clint 419 signing shoe boxes for customers at Corteiz and Nike's one-day pop-up in East Harlem. (Jordan Keyser/Jordan Keyser) The current king of gamified drops, however, may be Corteiz's founder, who goes by Clint 419. Like its in-person releases, Corteiz also pushes followers to engage with the brand on socials to gain access to a password that unlocks drops online or win a reward given directly by the founder himself. Davis of the gaming consultancy Drawn Distant sees him as a hyper-engaged creator who resonates with Gen-Z and Alpha customers that also grew up on creator-driven entertainment by the likes of gaming YouTubers such as MrBeast. 'Games are very much embedded in and leading culture in many ways for these younger kids,' said Davis. 'It doesn't matter if the product's the best thing ever. You need to be entertained while you try to hunt it down, hence the 'side quest' phenomenon, because it's a game as much as it's a reward.' Stephanie Ramos, a marketing consultant who previously worked within Nike's energy and collaborations team on gamified releases with brands such as Corteiz, said drops today need to also offer 'cultural currency' by becoming shareable experiences on social media, a phenomenon gamified releases speak to. Topicals' 'Faded Fortune' events invite customers to an activation where they pick suitcases off a stage, like the game show 'Deal or No Deal,' with prizes that range from an all-inclusive brand trip to a vintage Louis Vuitton bag. More Than Just Fun and Games Content opportunities aren't all customers are seeking, according to Ramos. 'The consumer is really looking for experiences, memories and community, especially post-pandemic,' she said. Gamified drops create a reciprocal relationship with customers that engenders community by creating spaces for fans of the brand to interact with one another. Because gamified releases require customers to be more engaged, it also keeps hardcore fans of these labels locked in while turning off outsiders, creating an air of exclusivity. A line of 750 customers formed inside a school yard for the opportunity to purchase Corteiz's latest Nike collaboration in-person. It's another reason gamification has resonated particularly well with sneakerheads and streetwear consumers. Alex Ropes, CEO of UK streetwear community The Basement, believes that the rise of social media has not only decentralised streetwear from epicentres like New York but fuelled a new crop of streetwear brands globally that has committed to the same gamified release strategy as brands such as Corteiz because of the barrier to entry it creates. 'The ones that are dedicated to your brand are the ones that are willing to go a little bit over and above to buy it,' said Ropes. 'The result of that is people will associate themselves with your brand at a closer level and it will create that kind of cultural camaraderie around two people that wear the same brand, which is what streetwear is all about.' That camaraderie is more the point than keeping others out. Ramos believes consumers are valuing authenticity more than exclusivity these days, a view echoed by Fabio Dessena, better known as FD From The Future, a UK-based content creator who built a following for on-the-ground coverage of gamified streetwear and sneaker drops. While Dessena has witnessed both new streetwear brands and larger players explore gamified releases, he believes the ones that build true communities are tied to something authentic rather than hype. Customers that lined up for Corteiz's pop-up in Harlem said they resonated with the story and personality of its founder, Clint 419. (Jordan Keyser/Jordan Keyser) Resonance with a brand or founder's story is why Isaiah Santana, a 24-year-old Parson's School of Design student, was in line for Corteiz's drop in Harlem, his first-ever in-person sneaker release. 'There's a personality behind it and a connection,' he said. For 22-year-old Max Daniel Pastrana, meanwhile, having to do work to get the Honey Blacks was part of the appeal. 'It gives the shoes more importance,' he said.
