A new type of shoe for fans of skateboarding footwear and Gundam Unicorn.
One of the ongoing themes of the Gundam anime franchise is that mankind’s development is still ongoing. As we venture out into the stars, Gundam tells us, we’ll reach new levels of perception and consciousness. Along the path to the evolutionary point where names like “Quattro Bajeena” and “Full Frontal” start to sound perfectly normal to humanity, it only makes sense that our footwear should evolve as well, and it’s doing just that with the introduction of two brand-new pairs of Nike Gundam sneakers.
Anime franchises don’t get much more sprawling than Gundam, so these kicks’ specific inspiration comes from the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series. Since Unicorn’s hero mecha, the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, has a dark counterpart in the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee, Nike has designed two visual variations, which are the newest members of its SB (skateboard) Dunk High line. The Nike SB x Unicorn Gundam Dunk High’s primary colors are white and “amarillo,” with red accents evocative of the mecha’s awakened Destroy Mode.
Meanwhile, the darker Nike SB x Banshee Dunk High’s hues are designated “thunder blue” and “metallic gold.”
▼ The Unicorn Gundam insignia can be found near the shoes’ heels.
The extra angular contours to the Nike swoosh give the sneakers a futuristic, robotic look, and if you’re wondering why they’re externally mounted, it’s because they’re actually detachable, allowing you to reconfigure the sneakers, sort of like how the RX-0’s single horn can split into the traditional Gundam V-shaped forehead crest.
The Unicorn Gundam and Banshee Dunk Highs are so cool that they even get their own anime ad, where the mobile suits’ original pilots, Banagher Links and Riddhe Marcenas, are replaced by animated versions of pro skateboarders Yuto Horigome, the first-ever skateboarding Olympic gold medalist, and Paul Rodriguez.
While a shoe company teaming up with a giant anime robot might seem like a strange concept, Nike has a long-standing tradition of making special models for the world’s biggest sports stars, and the Unicorn Gundam did raise its international profile considerably during the Tokyo Olympics.
Both the Unicorn Gundam and Banshee Dunk Highs are priced at 13,200 yen (US$120) and go on sale at select Nike SB retailers on September 24, with online orders through Nike’s SNKRS website beginning September 27.
Related: SNKRS
Source: Nike via Livedoor News/Kai-You via Otakomu
Top image: YouTube/nikeskateboarding
Insert images: YouTube/nikeskateboarding, Nike (1, 2)
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