QUICK TAKE:
This week, multiple Instagram accounts (see below) dropped sneak peeks of a highly-anticipated collaboration between FORTY PERCENT AGAINST RIGHTS and Nike SB. The brand has pedigree from its founder, Tetsu Nishiyama who heads WTAPS, a household name for many longtime streetwear aficionados. That pedigree shines through with this Air Jordan-inspired, heavy-hitting silhouette.
DESIGN:
FORTY PERCENT AGAINST RIGHTS worked with Nike SB to basically create a Nike Dunk x Air Jordan 5/6 fusion. While the basic Nike SB Dunk silhouette remains unaltered, key additions from the Air Jordan 5 and 6 models add eye-popping modifications.
The shoe features a black and dark gray leather base with a glossier leather featured on the toe box and quarter. The first major change is the inclusion of an Air Jordan 6 tongue, which features the iconic windows, a Nike SB-branded lace shroud, and a lacelock with FPAR and Nike branding. The typical Jordan branding at the top of the tongue is replaced by ‘Nike SB’. Tetsu Nishiyama took elements of the Air Jordan 5 and included them in the midfoot Swoosh, adding the iconic plastic webbing seen on the original to fill out the logo. The enlarged heel tab features FPAR branding, and a debossed “Don’t Follow Me” stamp is added, as well. Finally, the shoe is completed with a black midsole and outsole. The shoes are packaged in a transparent, corrugated plastic box made specifically for the release- which can be seen in the last Instagram post.
ANALYSIS:
The name FORTY PERCENT AGAINST RIGHTS is based on the concept that if an original artwork was modified by at least 40 percent, “the rights to that particular artwork don’t exist anymore”. With this model, it seems the brand may have accomplished that 40% facelift, and the operation was a complete success. Nike SB x Air Jordan hybrids are generally attractive and well-received, and the added mystique of FPAR’s branding only adds to this release.
The dark leather base and boot-like enlarged tongue and heel-tab also make these shoes a perfectly timed release as we enter into the cold, rainy months of the year, for most of the world. The only other addition that could have blown this collab out of the water would have been some water-proof GORETEX material!
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Consumers can pre-order the FORTY PERCENT AGAINST RIGHTS x Nike SB Dunk High at a special ISETAN MEN pop-up shop starting Wednesday, October 23. The model is then expected to see a wider release on Friday, October 25.
Kickbeast 
1 comment