John Elliott Expands Nike’s ‘LeBron’ Offering

Nike officially unveiled their collaboration with designer John Elliott, today. The company originally teased us with images of the brand new shoe, the “Icon”, pictured below. It’s now known that the shoe will be part of a larger collaborative collection between Lebron, Nike, and Elliott.

Shoe Specs: The ‘Icon’ features mid-top ankle support with a translucent upper construction that also features white leather and black/white synthetic materials. The shoe features a full length visible Max Air unit, and minimal Nike Swoosh branding on the toebox.

This new project follows closely in the footsteps of James’s move to the Los Angeles Lakers, and his presumed ascendance into becoming a Hollywood businessman. The collection combines leisure and functionality to provide high-end athleisure gear fit for the King himself. The collection provides multiple layers of black and white clothing, all built around the ‘Icon’ itself.

All of the pieces feature heavy Elliott influence, focusing on functional, minimal layers. But, the designer said it was LeBron himself who pulled it all together. The athlete realized the translucent upper featured on his new shoe meant that the final piece of the collection should be a sock- and thus the Icon collection was complete.

The Nike Lebron James x John Elliott Icon collection will range from $60 to $300 USD and will arrive on August 4 in North American, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia and Brazil.

This could the beginning of a new focus on athlete-inspired athleisure. Players like Kobe Bryant have had their own logoed gear, but generally its specific to the sport they play. Here we see Nike taking advantage of James’s massive following and the constantly growing sector of athleisure. Under Armour has begun working with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on similar training garments. As a consumer, what’s most important to you?: How comfortable and sleek the gear is? The athlete’s name attached?.. Is John Elliott or Lebron James’s name more important in ensuring this collab sells right off the shelves?