Skate brand shoe collabs seem to be coming increasingly often these days. Although most lack the sort of rarity or hype that really drives the resale market, in this instance, being less collectible can actually have its benefits in the long run. They’re still available. Listed below are four standouts from 2018’s skate brand collab shoe releases which haven’t yet become too valuable or coveted to actually wear skating, but still pack that spicy cachet.
PALACE x Reebok Classic – Club Workout
In between all of the adidas collabs, Palace somehow still finds time to send plenty of unexpected treasures down the pipeline. Enter the Reebok Classic Club Workout from early 2018. A British sneaker, paired with a British skate company, all done-up in neon like some wacky 90’s rave. It was a match made in the bathroom of a Happy Mondays concert. These kicks are essentially London skateboarding itself embodied in a skate shoe. That being, not really a skate shoe at all but a piece of cultural heritage; overrun and repurposed FOR skateboarding to such a degree that it’s scarcely recognizable as anything else. Even without any special features or extra modification, Reebok Classics have stayed a fan favorite because they skate so well as is. All of the wild Palace branding here is just an added bonus. Sadly, we haven’t seen anything from Palace and Reebok Classic since but catch pros Rory Milanes and a pre-Louis Vuitton Lucien Clarke shredding Hawaii in them below. Click here to shop.
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DIME x DC – Legacy OG
They might be offended by the comparison, but for those who aren’t yet familiar, the brand Dime is essentially the French-Canadian answer to the early days of Supreme. A group that celebrates and progresses skate culture in some of most exciting ways, but that would still probably “cool guy” the shit out of you if you ever pulled up to the same skate spot. In that respect, there was no better shoe for Dime to release that brings that same energy than the DC Legacy OG. Too huge and heavy for anyone but beasts like Tiago Lemos or John Shanahan to actually skate well, they still look fire alongside a pair of Droors cargo pants cinched at the ankle. The Dime branding is minimal but it fits the OG aesthetic; a grey on grey palette offset with green accents that scream Airmax 95. These are by far the best thing brought back to life on the current wave of Mid 90s skate nostalgia since the Instagram account @saggyclips. Click here to shop.
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HOCKEY x Nike SB – Zoom Killshot 2
Owned and operated by Jason Dill and Anthony Van Engelen, two of professional skateboarding’s most legendary reformed burnouts; Fucking Awesome is a skate brand that has cornered the entire delinquent ne’er-do-well market since it began. F.A.’s slightly lesser-known and lesser polished sister brand, Hockey, arguably takes that effortlessly cool skate rat image even further. Although both F.A. and Hockey’s latest shoe collabs were with Vans, in 2018 Hockey joined forces with Nike SB to release the Zoom Killshot 2. It’s a shoe almost as murderous looking as the name would imply. These boast a single blood red swoosh on the side, a single blood red Hockey logo across the back, and the rest is all blacked out. Minimal to the extent that they’re actually attention grabbing and you still get all of that juicy Nike SB Zoom technology on the inside to keep your feet safe. Disclaimer: these shoes will not keep your feet or any other part of your body safe if you try any of the tricks in the Hockey Killshot skate video. Click here to shop.
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ALLTIMERS x adidas skateboarding – Gazelle Super
Alltimers accentuates the fun side of skateboarding. They have some of the most insane board graphics, they sell things like branded flowerpots and aprons, and both Dustin Henry and Etienne Gagne skate for the team. Given all of this, it shouldn’t be at all surprising how Alltimers again stumped expectations with their last adidas collab by going full “business casual”. There was a boiled wool zipped jacket, a boiled wool hoodie, chino trousers, and at the center of it all, a beautiful Gazelle Super in mesa hairy suede. Everything is so understated, color-coordinated and impeccably tailored it’s hard not to want the full kit, but obviously the shoe is the real star. The Gazelle Super is already a tried and true classic; skateboard, soccer or otherwise. Here made just that extra bit cooler by the embossed martini glass on the tongue, a must have for any league player. Click here to shop.
