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Earlier today, the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low hit the web with the Jewel Swoosh sporting skateboard shoes being dubbed fool’s gold by many.
At this point, not only does Supreme not care what people think it’s exactly that disdain for public approval which has made them great.
Because of this it’s easy to feel confused as a consumer. Once again Supreme has us asking — much like they did when their Air Jordan 14s and Air Jordan 5s first leaked — are these really fire or are these actually trash?
Playing both sides of the fence, we explore exactly that.
The Jewel Swoosh
By far, the most compelling and controversial aspect of the 2019 Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low is the use of Jewel Swoosh branding.
The controversial and perhaps compelling aspect is that the Jewel Swoosh has never been used before on an SB Dunk. While the Jewel Swoosh in many ways came to prominence on the OG Air Max 95, its niche fame lives in the late ’90s retro glory of jiggy Air Force 1 Mids and mild Air Max 1 SCs.
Some could say the Jewel Swoosh is compelling on a Dunk because it’s a first. The only issue? The Jewel Swoosh isn’t really compelling at all any more.
For fans who grew up on Puff and Ma$e sporting said styling on AF1s or overseas collectors who chased the branding in Air Max fashion, the amount of lazy and lackluster Jewel Swoosh releases in recent years has robbed the rare branding of almost any cool cache.
Supreme has more often been hailed for unarchiving the obscure rather than doing things first.
Simply put, the Jewel Swoosh is no longer obscure.
It’s an SB Dunk
Anyone with any idea of how Nike operates would’ve told you late in 2018 that the SB Dunk was bound to have a big year in 2019.
Travis Scott, LeBron James and Virgil Abloh didn’t all start wearing SBs because they’re on the same group chat. Sure, they think Dunks are cool and they are. However, Nike isn’t dumb and neither are their top dogs. If everyone on Nike is wearing something it’s because Nike is the masters of warming up a product they want to pop by putting it on their most influential backers.
Oddly enough, the SB Dunk Low hasn’t really had that big of a year in 2019. Core colorways that went straight to skate shops were clean as a whistle but not really seen much out in the wild outside of a skate park.
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, smart money says Nike doesn’t have non-skaters wearing SBs on the regular without wanting non-skaters to wear them.
While streetwear is very much mainstream at this point in time, the genre is still 100% rooted in skate. Supreme is essentially the living, breathing example of that. Born on the boards on the streets of New York, it’s not necessarily their fault that box logos land on kids across the country who couldn’t pick Jason Dill out of a lineup.
Just the same, maybe that’s the problem or the point: who cares if the internet doesn’t like the new Supreme SB Dunks? Skate culture has always been about pissing off the mainstream even if some people think Supreme is just about making money in 2019.
So far they’ve done the former and smart bets say they’ll do the latter.
Star Branding
Whether warding off the fashion police or comparing their very vocal fan base to that of the Dallas Cowboys, the star-logo Supreme branding proves another controversial aspect of said leak.
Not tied to either of the mentioned motives that could liken the East Coast staple to the Old West, it’s more that the branding is almost identical to the famed Heineken Dunks.
Maybe homage, maybe a nod to friends over at Team Epiphany, the logo was surprising.
More so, it was too close for comfort among those that buy into the swagger jackin’ narrative.
Metallic Toe Boxes
Few shoes look cool in leaked photos and most shoes look better on foot. These SBs are likely no exception.
Looking at the leak, the sharp contrast between shiny metallic leather on the toe box of these Dunks and slightly tumbled leather on the back is pretty off-putting.
Conversely? This odd combo could look pretty fire on foot. Considering the contrast when rocked in blunt fashion with shorts or swaying to the baggy pant trend that’s right at home in ’90s skate, these could go.
Moving to metallic, maybe there’s another nod happening here, too. Over the years, metallic finishes have been used on SB Dunks before, perhaps most famously on the silver “Dinosaur Jr” Dunk Highs.
Conversely, blunt blocking made to accentuate the toe box has been used before on the likes of Air Jordan 1s and Superstars typically releasing in women’s size runs.
What exactly is Supreme going for?
Your guess is as good as ours.
Actual Inspiration
For the time being, actual inspiration of the shoe remains the great unknown.
When the Supreme x Air Jordan 14 first leaked our best guess was they paid homage to the bedazzled leather jackets of the Avirex or Pelle Pelle variety likened to the days of Dipset.
Later on, an image of Michael Jordan wearing a studded black leather jacket circa ’94 that looked borrowed from Eddie Murphy was assumed to be the actual muse.
Is Supreme going to give us another ‘aha’ moment to open our minds to history or are they going to have another ‘haha’ moment come the eventual Thursday release when they make our bank accounts history come Friday?
Let us know how you feel about these Dunks on social.
