The Resurgence of Nike’s SB Dunk
Since 2018, Nike Dunks have made their long-overdue comeback. But why?
The Resurgence of Nike’s SB Dunk In the late 90s and the early 2000s, Nike SB Dunks took over pop culture. Today it seems like the Dunks are more popular than they've ever been, here's why.
In 1996, Nike signed skateboarder Bam Margera for their SB division. Nike released the ‘Schimp’, ‘Air Choad’ and ‘Air Snak’. After the poor performance of their first skate shoe attempt, Nike recruited Sandy Bodecker in 2001. Bodecker helped restructure the face of Nike SB.
Bodecker noted they already had perfect skate shoes with the Jordan I and Nike Dunk, both shoes were already embraced by skaters. Bodecker’s new plan was to sell their shoes to smaller, independent skate shops instead of generic sneaker stores.
Bodecker also didn’t want low-effort shoe releases and vehemently avoided mass production aiming for limited, quality products. The Nike Dunk was a basketball shoe from 1985 designed by Peter Moore.
Ironically, Moore also designed the Jordan I in the same year. The Dunk was retooled into the SB Dunk. The SB Dunk featured 'Zoom Air' technology in the form of a pod within the shoe's forefoot to improve comfort. SB Dunk also had more padding in the shoe’s tongue, different lace spacing and an improved sole for traction.
The popularity of the SB Dunk is not just attributed to their organic marketing approach but also Nike SB's long list of collaborations. Nike SB worked with companies like Stussy, Diamond Supply Co. and Supreme in their early years.
It wasn’t just fashion companies and skate shop that received their own Dunks. Nike partnered with hip hop artists and groups like; De La Soul, Quasimoto, MF DOOM and N*E*R*D for their own signature Dunk too.
This further added to the Dunks appreciation to a wider audience beyond skating. Dunks have had a spike in popularity since 2018. This is thanks to sought after collaborations and Instagram Archive page notoriety.
Travis Scott, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Off-White and Dr Strangelove have all received their own signature Dunk, adding to the hype.
As of 2020, Nike has also retroed many classic models with the ‘Kentucky’, ‘Syracuse’ and ‘Plum’ Dunks releasing month by month.
