Over the decades, Nike has built an impressive roster of buzzy and culturally relevant brand collaborations. Well, just in time for last-minute Christmas shopping, the leading shoe brand is partnering up once again for a new collab collection, but this time, it’s turning to the beauty world.
As Fashionista reports, Nike has joined forces with renowned British makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench, the founder of Isamaya Beauty. The beauty veteran created two exclusive colorways of the Air Max Dn, which are “Deep Brown” and “Nude.” She drew inspiration from women athletes: “It’s been inspiring, working with athletes throughout this journey with Nike — and humbling to feel that the things I’m creating help these women feel good and give them the confidence to perform at their peak and define their own authentic creativity in expression,” she said in a press statement.
Ffrench is no novice when it comes to working with color and texture, and she found a parallel in the Dn silhouette. Even though the colorways are muted, the distinguished shoes can be just as bold as a red lipstick. “My favorite parts of the design are probably the rand and heel, where we were able to add metallic tones underneath a glossy acrylic, giving those parts of the shoe an even more extreme and textural look — juxtaposing them against the matte of the upper and sole,” Ffrench said.
While the partnership marks a bit of a departure for Nike, which hasn’t typically turned to the cosmetics realm for inspiration, the brand has often dabbled in fashion: Past projects include collaborations with Jacquemus, Sacai, former Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci, Off-White and Comme des Garçons.
The Nike Air Max Dn x Isamaya Ffrench collaboration comes amid an industry trend of intertwining sports and beauty: Over the past few months, Glossier became the first official beauty partner of WNBA, K18 named Simone Biles its brand ambassador, Charlotte Tilbury partnered with F1 Academy and Angel Reese became the face of Mielle Organics.
The Nike Air Max Dn x Isamaya Ffrench will be available to shop online at nike.com and select retail partners beginning Dec. 20.
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