Each of Skepta’s Nike SK trainers share an element of his personal story, from travel to Morocco to building a fan base in Paris — and the SK SHOX is no exception. It does, however, extend a more transcendental tone than the three prior Air Max-based releases.
The SK SHOX is about finding belief in boundless opportunity. In 2018, Skepta was bestowed a chieftainship in his parents’ home state of Ogun in Nigeria. Nigerian chieftainships are given in recognition of a positive contribution to community wellbeing. “It made me realize that anybody could be a chief, but some people are brought up not thinking they can,” he says.
The shoe’s design extends this thought in the abstract. It incorporates elements of Skepta’s Nigerian heritage to share his familial respect. “I take pride in the fact that I know my surname, and I know where I’m from and both my parents are Nigerian,” he says. “It was about bringing Nike to Nigeria and letting the kids know the energy.”
That energy is also one that Skepta is keen to harness in this provocative shoe, to let everyone feel their dreams are within reach. The shoe becomes a conduit to share his point of view that the future is limitless.
“It is important to make people believe that they can feel royal — that if they work hard, their work will be recognized and appreciated and celebrated,” he says.
Skepta’s choice of the SHOX silhouette is rooted in a specific memory. “When I used to go to Manchester, all the kids were rocking SHOX. It was a real street shoe there. I liked their swag — the windbreakers and the SHOX,” he remembers. “I thought ‘Yeah, let’s definitely do that,’ because I always remember those trips up north.”
The Nike SK SHOX drop September 12 on SNEAKRS in Europe, SNKRS in Asia and Greater China, and at select retailers.