Just a few weeks before the entire world entered a global lockdown in March of 2020, Nike gathered together many of their most prominent collaborators for a showing of their Tokyo Olympics collection. The games ended up being cancelled but Nike’s collaborative prowess was put on display via a group Instagram photo posted by Yoon Ahn and captioned “CHECKS OVER STRIPES.” The photo included Travis Scott, Drake, Martine Rose, Virgil Abloh, Matthew Williams, Tom Sachs, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and several other current Nike collaborators. One year later, it’s clear that the photo was foreshadowing what would come to follow later that year. Nike released apparel collaborations like crazy in 2020, dropping elevated artist merchandise with Travis Scott and Drake and full on collections with Off-White, Stüssy, and Supreme. Nike’s dominance in the sneaker industry is well known but last year the activewear brand demanded their share of the apparel industry as well. Moving into 2021, Nike’s list of partnerships only continues to grow and as far as the streetwear world is concerned, there’s almost nothing better than a collaboration with a Swoosh on it.
More Nike x Off-White Apparel
After releasing women’s running gear steadily throughout 2019, Nike and Off-White dropped just one collaborative apparel collection in 2020. The capsule was released in January, meaning it’s been a while since we’ve seen the two forces come together. But Virgil Abloh has recently hinted pretty strongly at a reuniting on his interactive “Public Domain” website, confirming that several highly anticipated Nike and Jordan sneakers would be dropping in the near future. Abloh also provided a look into some unreleased apparel designs via the same interactive website and potentially teased their future availability by titling them “works in progress.” We don’t know it for sure, but it looks like Nike and Off-White have a whole lot in store for their fans this year.
Nike and Supreme Have a Big Year Ahead
Supreme and Nike only dropped one collaborative apparel collection last year. That came as a disappointing surprise to many fans considering that Supreme x Nike has been a seasonal staple for years. But last year’s slow down doesn’t mean that the collaboration has lost its steam. Rumors and leaks suggest that Nike and Supreme have a lot in store for fans this year including a new colorway of the Supreme x Nike Air Force 1, one of the most resold sneakers on StockX last year. It’s also been rumored that a Supreme Jordan 1 may be in the cards, an exciting development for fans who might have missed out on the Neutral Greys or Trophy Rooms earlier this year. As far as apparel is concerned, it’s possible that the unprecedented events of last year may have played into the withholding of Supreme and Nike’s SS20 release. It’s entirely reasonable to expect that the two brands will return to their regular seasonal drop schedule in 2021, meaning there’s a whole lot of Supreme x Nike coming this year.
New NOCTA & Drake Merch
When Yoon Ahn posted the photo mentioned above on Instagram last year, the biggest story it spawned was that Drake must have something coming soon with Nike. As one of the only people in the photo who wasn’t regularly collaborating with the brand, it only made sense. One year later, the speculation was correct but nobody could’ve predicted that Drake and Nike would take it to the level they did. Drake dropped two separate collaborations with the activewear brand last year, one of which included merch for his forthcoming album, Certified Lover Boy, and the second of which introduced a new Nike sub-label called NOCTA. Both collaborative efforts sold out immediately and have since traded in healthy volumes on StockX. For NOCTA, Drake and Nike have already announced via the NOCTA site that there will be at least one release this year. Certified Lover Boy was delayed, meaning that another collaborative merchandise capsule could be in the works for the album’s official release, especially in an age where some artists drop new merch for a single.
Nike x Stussy
Perhaps the biggest surprise collaboration last year was Nike x Stüssy. The two brands dropped their first collaborative capsule in March and followed it up with a consistent flow of new releases throughout the year. With sneakers and apparel included in most drops, the collaboration had a little something something for everyone. The partnership found itself in excellent company as 2020 came to a close with the collaboration’s Crewneck finding its way onto our Best Streetwear Of 2020 List. The two brands have already signaled that they plan to continue this relationship into 2021 with several new capsules already on the books for this year.
Travis Scott x Nike
The first half of 2020 and the second half of 2020 looked a whole lot different for Travis Scott and Nike. After collaborating with Nike twice in the first five months of the year, Travis Scott took a rest from his work with the activewear brand. He instead filled the second half of the year with other projects like collaborations with McDonald’s and Playstation and launching his own mysterious spiked seltzer brand called CACTI. Nike and Travis Scott’s endeavors of the first half of the year were nothing to balk at though as the artist delivered two new hit sneakers and collaborative apparel to match. The Cactus Jack For Nike SB Hoodie, which released alongside the artist’s Dunk Low, finished the year as one of the most resold hoodies on StockX. It’s already rumored that Travis Scott has several sneakers and a potential album dropping in 2021 and after the way the artist has handled his merch releases in the past, that means new Nike apparel is almost certainly on the way.
A Big Year
2021 for Nike should be a walk in the park. They’ve already got the collaborative partnerships on lock and with both Travis Scott and Drake rumored to release albums this year, meaning the Nike branded artist merch should floweth over. Stüssy and Nike have shown no signs of slowing down and as the two brands begin to retro their catalog, anticipation around the partnership is only likely to grow. Supreme and Off-White could easily return to their regularly scheduled programming of consistent drops with Nike, providing sure fire best sellers destined to find themselves on the Best Streetwear Of 2021 list. The collaborative Nike sneakers expected to release this year are enough to have fans foaming at the mouth on their own but we’re excited to see the apparel items that end up accompanying them in 2021.
