The New HyperFam collection recognizes the unique culture of summer basketball in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Manila, Beijing and Madrid.
Source: Six New Nike Hyperdunk Low Styles Celebrate Basketball’s Global Capital Cities
Nike Basketball may not be performing at the level that analyst desire, but that doesn’t mean that Nike is going to back away from what establish Nike’s greatness. Basketball has been a core product since the Nike Blazer was slapped on the feet of players at Iona when an upstart young coach named Jim Valvano became the first coach signed to the Swoosh by Sonny Vaccaro.
Nike understands where there success derived from and they have completely revamped their flagship basketball shoe to give it the aesthetics of the current market. They decreased the bulkiness of the outsole and delivered the shoe in lightweight materials that have design elements closely aligned to casual looks vs performance.
This may be the most street ready version of a basketball shoe from Nike since their early 90s designs captured the heart of hoopers and streetwear culture. This models of the shoe trim the height of the shoe down to a low cut model and features Nike’s new REACT cushion to represent hotbeds of hoops history.
“New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Manila, Beijing and Madrid. Each of these cities carries a distinct competitive fire, and each a unique flare for the game.” The shoes have striking uppers and distinctive midsoles offering each city an option for a stylish representation of where you’re from.
The most compelling shoe of the pack is the Chicago which features an acronym based on the life of a young ball player who was murdered. The Failure Is Not An Option version of the shoe was “Coined by Chicago-born basketball player Saieed Ivey, a Simeon Highschool graduate who was murdered in Los Angeles in 2014, FINAO (failure is not an option) has since become adopted citywide as a rallying call for the Windy City’s next generation of hoop talent. The phrase is inked on bodies and hash-tagged on social media to serve as a poignant reminder of the importance of embracing opportunity.”
As anyone who knows basketball knows Simeon is the high school of legendary Benji Wilson who was murdered in the 80s. The school has produced players like Jabari Parker and D Rose in the last few years and remains a hotbed of talent.
The New York vs New York features a blueprint of the city and is the cleanest looking pair of the bunch. Overall the pack is dope attempt at taking an All Cities approach to inspiring interest in basketball footwear. Will it capture the heart of the people? That is to be seen. I think if these are limited in release they will undoubtedly attract interest. If they are released in abundance as a GR with an August 2nd date, the colors may be too bold for back to school and could sit on shelves. This is definitely a more street friendly drop from the Swoosh and could help with the return to casual wear for hoops kicks.