When it comes to UK streetwear, our trainers are something we don't take lightly.
While it's commonplace for our cousins in the US to collaborate with the world's most popular sneaker brands, our cultural icons and urban fashion brands haven't had so many opportunities. We've had a bunch of brand ambassadors hand-picked from our culture over the years, but it seems like sneaker collabs are on a higher pedestal, just out of reach even for many of our most highly regarded icons.
Let's take a look at 5 British sneaker collaborations within UK street culture that have hopefully paved the way for many more to come. ( Check out my video for a more detailed breakdown, as well as a sixth bonus collab!)
Franklin Boateng x Ellesse
Let's kick things off with Franklin Boateng's Ellesse collaboration.
Franklin Boateng isn't called the King of Trainers for no reason. He's been a sneaker enthusiast since childhood, and has more than earned his title over the years as he developed one of the most exclusive and valuable sneaker collections in the UK. Franklin's connections and reputation in the sneaker world has enabled him to naturally become one of Britain's most influential figures within the space over time.
So it shouldn't be a surprise that he was eventually approached to do a sneaker collaboration. Franklin's take on the Ellesse Tanker initially came about when he was asked to partake in a workshop called The Design Counsel in 2020, which brought together eight influential figures from around the world to design their own versions of the Tanker. The collaboration was a limited Friends and Family drop, with each designer only receiving a few pairs to give away.
Franklin announced the collaboration on Instagram, and cheekily suggested that he might get a full collaboration if his supporters tagged Ellesse in the comments. Gotta shoot your shot, right?
The response was so overwhelmingly positive that Ellesse decided to partner with him for an official release of the sneaker, complete with a collection of matching apparel, making him the first black man to do an official sneaker collab with the brand.
Dizzee Rascal x Nike
Dizzee Rascal rose to prominence when he was 18 years old after dropping his debut album "Boy in da Corner" in July of 2003. In 2005 he released two pairs of Air Max 180's - a white pair and a brown pair. They had his name on the back, and the tongue featured the original logo for Dirtee Stank Recordings - a record label he co-founded at the age of sixteen.
Four years later, in 2009, Dizzee did an Air Max 90 collaboration which dropped two days before his platinum selling album Tongue 'n Cheek. These kicks are now very hard to get a hold of, and are selling for up to six and a half grand. I like them a lot.
Four years later, in 2009, Dizzee did an Air Max 90 collaboration which dropped two days before his platinum selling album Tongue 'n Cheek. These kicks are now very hard to get a hold of, and are selling for up to six and a half grand. I like them a lot.
In late 2010, old pictures emerged of a sample pair of Dirtee Stank Air Force 1's, with Dizzee's famous phrase "Fix Up, Look Sharp" written on the back. These ones never made the final cut, and I can't say I'm upset with that. This colour-way gives me anxiety, I'll be real. These kicks got more black air force energy than black air forces. You can't wear these unless you're a certified villain. The only feature I rate on them is the air units in the midsoles which aren't usually featured on Air Forces. That's hard.
Skepta x Nike
Another Grime pioneer that has multiple Nike collaborations under their belt is Skepta with his SK air brand. I think Skepta takes it when it comes to who has the most Nike sneaker collabs from our scene. He announced his first collaboration with Nike in 2016, posting an all black pair of Air Max BW's on instagram, which were dubbed the Blacklisted BW - a nod to his 2012 classic mixtape.
Although the Nike Air Max collection is highly regarded in UK streetwear, the Air Max Classic BW is far from the most popular. Nonetheless, they are cemented in Grime history as the creps Dizzee Rascal wore on the cover of Boy in da Corner. It's only right Skepta kicked things off with them.
He then went on to release a pair of Marrakesh inspired Air Max 97's in 2017, followed by the French inspired Air Max 97/BW in 2018, which consisted of an Air Max BW upper and an Air Max 97 sole. My personal favourite from Skepta.
Later that year he dropped the Air Max Deluxe SK, followed in 2019 by the SK Shox.
In March 2021 he released the Chrome Blue Air Max Tailwind 5s, complete with matching tracksuit and bucket hat. Three months later, he dropped the Bloody Chrome colour-way. No tracksuit this time. But it did drop along with Skepta's very own Phantom football boots.
That wraps it up for Skepta's Nike collabs. In September 2022, Puma announced
that they signed a long-term partnership deal with Skepta, which not only makes him their Global Ambassador, but also gives him complete creative control over mens product designs and global marketing campaigns through his multi-faceted services company Big Smoke Corporation. So it's safe to say we won't be seeing anymore Nike collabs for now; but maybe Skepta will be responsible for the next UK hood icon or brand that gets a Puma sneaker collab. Time will tell.
Corteiz x Nike
Moving from grime to UK streetwear, we have to touch on the Corteiz x Nike collab.
So when Clint announced in January 2023 that he would be doing a Nike sneaker
collab, many of us were completely caught off guard. Not only because of Corteiz's consistent anti-establishment stance, but also because Nike took legal action against Clint in 2020, and successfully invalidated his most significant trademark. Whatever the case, most Corteiz supporters were impressed and excited about the link up.
Coming out the gate with three Air Max 95 colour ways after just 5 years in business is pretty impressive. Off the bat, Clint's matched Dizzee Rascal's record of three Nike creps, and at this rate, he could probably surpass Skepta's eight if he wanted, likely in less than the four years it took Skepta to amass his collection.
Trapstar x Puma
In 2015, Puma linked up with British streetwear pioneers Trapstar. The brand has been about unofficially since 2006 - 2007 when Mikey Trapstar began printing exclusive Trapstar shirts just for his friends to wear. By 2008, Trapstar clothing was being sold in west London's Portobello Market, and the rest is history.
Evidently this tag team was very well received because that was the first of many sneaker and apparel collaborations to come. Between 2016 and 2017, Trapstar dropped a slew of sneakers with Puma. Trapstar and Puma produced at least 15 different sneakers together within two years. Product-wise, this was a sick partnership!
