Of all the BTS members, J-Hope’s easily the biggest sneakerhead. He’s fronted a campaign for Louis Vuitton, sporting the French maison’s squishy Buttersoft sneaker, while he also fronted campaigns for Puma when BTS signed with the major label on a multi-year deal that saw them design the Basket Made By BTS and Suede shoes. The K-Pop superstars got the Balenciaga X Adidas Triple S Trainers, and the LV Runner Tatic Sneakers. Now, he’s taking it a step further, according to sneaker sites like Sole Supplier and Sneaker News.
Yesterday, fresh off the back of BTS’ World Cup final performance, it was sort of announced (via leaks and rumours) that J-Hope has partnered with Nike and Nigo to release a pair of Air Force Ones, which are set for a release in autumn. Nigo, who is a long-term Nike collaborator, will head up the three-way collaboration between him, the Oregon-based brand, and J-Hope, taking over a version of the Nike Air Force 1 ’01. Any details are speculative, but details of a colour palette of “Burnt Sunrise/Metallic Gold/Taupe/Chlorine Blue/Arctic Punch/Sail” have leaked, and you can expect the shoes to be as punchy as one of BTS’s chart-topping tracks.
Now, while the shoe release is uncertain and these are just leaked details, it seems to be true. Nike and BTS already linked up earlier this year for the band’s tour, selling limited edition customisable merch that had fans queuing round the block in New York City and the like. What’s more, BTS is the biggest band in the world, and Nike will definitely want to tap into its power a little more.
All we know right now is that a release is set for the autumn, when Nigo also has an exhibition down at London’s Design Museum. According to the popular Instagram page Sneaker Market Metro, which usually is bang on the money with regards to rumoured collaborations and sneaker releases, the Nike Air Force 1 Low ‘01 design will be part of Nike’s Holiday pack.
