A Complete History of Sneakersnstuff Sneaker Collaborations

Sweden's finest.

Photo Removed
Complex Original

Blank pixel used during image takedowns

Photo Removed

Collaborations have become a huge part of sneakers over the past 10 or 15 years, and one of the best when it comes to collaborations is Sweden's Sneakersnstuff. Founded in 1999 by Erik Fagerlind and Peter Jansson, Sneakersnstuff has been putting their own spin on classic sneakers since 2003 - and they have arguably created some of the best sneakers ever made. Barely three months into 2013, Sneakersnstuff has already dropped some of the best releases of the year, including three collaborations with Reebok. This past week they released the Reebok Question "Crocus" which instantly sold out everywhere. With the buzz around their creations, we figured it was a great time to dive into the history of their collabs, so we reached out to Peter and he gave us the Complete History of Sneakersnstuff Sneaker Collaborations.

You can follow the Sneakersnstuff team on Twitter: @Sneakersnstuff / @Peter_SNS / @sneakererik

Reebok Question x Sneakersnstuff "Crocus"

Photo Removed

Reebok DMX Run 10 x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

Reebok Classic Leather 30th Anniversary x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

adidas Consortium ZX 700 x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

ASICS GT-II x Sneakersnstuff *Seventh Seal*

Photo Removed

Year: 2012

About one year after our first collaboration with ASICS it was time for another one. ASICS was about to bring back the GEL Saga II and they wanted us to work our magic on them.. We started brainstorming and came up with a black waterproof version inspired by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's classic movie The Seventh Seal, particularly the scene where a knight is playing a game of chess with Death. Originally we called them the Black Death. When we saw the first samples of the retro GEL Saga we decided to go for the good ol' GT-II again. All of a sudden we remembered that the GEL Saga was the cheapest low-entry GEL runner ever while our favorite, the GT-II, was a top performance runner back in the day. So we took the Ingmar Bergman saga and applied it on the GT-II. 158 pairs were sold to the public. The launch party was held in an old underground nuclear reactor in Stockholm... check out the video:

Sneakersnstuff x ASICS GT-II release party from Sneakersnstuff on Vimeo.

Supra Owen x Sneakersnstuff 'Swedish Meatballs'

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Milkcrate Athletics x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

Supra Owen x Sneakersnstuff 'Curry'

Photo Removed

ASICS GT-II x Sneakersnstuff 'Runestone'

Photo Removed

Ellesse Poli x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

Year: 2011

Ellesse, the luxury sports brand from Italy, invited us to be a part of their original Fab Five project: A project where they invited the five best retailers in Europe according to Ellesse. We didn't have many material or color options for this project, so we went for a Falu red version of the Poli runner. "Falu red" is a specific red paint from the city of Falun. It is used on traditional red cottages all over Sweden. A co-branded paint brush came along with the shoes. Also Nash Money did a great sneaker display for us. Total production: 150 pairs.

Fab Five - ellesse heritage - Full length video from Sane Communications on Vimeo.

Converse Chuck Taylor's All-Star Hi x Sneakersnstuff 'Lovikka'

Photo Removed

Year: 2010

A knitted sneaker? This was pre-Flynit, kids. This one took a long time to develop, and the Converse crew did a great job. The design is based on two icons: Chuck Taylor's All-Star basketball sneakers and Erika Aittamaa's Lovikka mittens. Everybody in Sweden knows about the Lovikka mitten, a knitted mitten with a tassel. The white version was supposed to be released just in time for Christmas 2009, but we ran into some trouble. We ended up releasing the white version on December 3rd 2010, it was snowing outside. People that had never ever bought a pair of sneakers in their life lined up for these. 220 pairs sold out instantly. One pair ended up at the Lovikka Museum in the village of Lovikka. The day after the release, they were national news. The biggest TV station in Sweden, TV4, featured them on their morning show. We had the phone ringing for weeks with people asking for those Lovikka sneakers. That made us think: hmm maybe we should do another colorway? We released the grey ones in 2012. The Lovikka mitten was manufactured in several different classic colorways, so let's hope for a third colorway of the Sneakersnstuff Lovikka Chucks. Total production: White: 300 pairs. Grey: I have no idea.

Sneakersnstuff x Converse from Sneakersnstuff on Vimeo.

Reebok Workout Plus 25th x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

Year: 2012

Another anniversary edition. Reebok wanted us to be a part of the Workout Plus 25th Anniversary. The inspiration for our version of the classic Reebok Workout Plus comes from the greatest animal in the Swedish woods - the moose. Famous for having a superior leather quality and great-tasting meat, the moose is very common in Sweden. Therefore the annual moose hunt is a very big thing for the hunters here. Actually, for many hunters the moose hunt is the only workout they'll get. Made out of fine moose leather.

Sneakersnstuff x Reebok Workout 25th Anniversary from Sneakersnstuff on Vimeo.

Le Coq Sportif Arthur Ashe x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

PUMA Dallas x Sneakersnstuff x size?

Photo Removed

New Balance x Sneakersnstuff RGB Pack

Photo Removed

adidas Stockholm x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

PUMA Suede SNS 10 GOAT-pack

Photo Removed

Lacoste René x Sneakersnstuff x Jonas Wiehager

Photo Removed

Year: 2009

We did quite a few collaborations during 2009 as we celebrated 10 years. With Lacoste, we did one multicolor version based on the SNS 10 year anniversary site, a micro site where each color represented a month. We posted daily news and trips down memory lane every single day for a whole year. We also invited our good friend and local street hero Jonas Wiehager aka Fat White Dude aka Mr. Stockholm. Jonas picked a black leather version that he applied his signature Superdrops technique on.

Sneakersnstuff x Jonas Wiehager x Lacoste from Sneakersnstuff on Vimeo.

adidas Superstar 80s 3-Way Consortium Project

Photo Removed

adidas Consortium Samba x Sneakersnstuff 3 -Way Project

Photo Removed

Reebok The Pump x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

Year: 2009

Reebok invited us to be a part of the Reebok Pump 20, the 20th anniversary of the Reebok Pump. 20 stores in the world got invited to the Reebok World Headquarters in Canton outside of Boston. Erik and Johan represented Sneakersnstuff. The original idea was to make a survival sneaker. We wanted to feature everything that you had in your old Rambo knife. That didn't work because of legal issues. The result was 31 pairs of super-warm wool and Thinsulate Pumps featuring the Swedish scout motto 'Alltid Redo' on the tongue.

Sneakersnstuff x Reebok Pump 20 from Sneakersnstuff on Vimeo.

Tretorn T56 SNS GTX

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff Round 3 'Erik'

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff Round 3 'Peter'

Photo Removed

adidas ZX 450 Sneakersnstuff aZX Consortium Project

Photo Removed

Year: 2008

This is probably our most important collaboration to date. adidas invited us and a few of their Consortium partners to the World of Sports (the name of the adidas World Headquarters in the small village of Herzogenaurach in Bavaria, Germany). We got to meet and become friends with so many people in the industry that we have admired and still admire. We also met Markus Thaler, one of few people still alive that actually worked along side adi Dassler himself. I rarely get starstruck but I was totally starstruck when we met Markus, the man who did the adidas Gazelle and the original ZX series. And celebrating the classic ZX series was what the aZX Consortium Project was all about - the alphabet according to adidas Originals. When Ben Preuss (the Vice President of adidas Originals at the time) and his right-hand man Dean Lokes took us aside from the rest of the gang and explained to us that they wanted Sneakersnstuff to represent the letter S in the aZX alphabet, we understood that it was one tough decision to make. They could have picked any store in the world to represent the letter S but they gave the most sought-after letter to Sneakersnstuff, Stockholm, Sweden. That was huge. Designwise Erik and I wanted to do a waterproof runner for the Swedish fall (it rains a lot in Sweden). We wanted to add Gore-Tex but that wasn't possible, so we went for a waterproof fake suede upper.

Reebok SNS 5000

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff 'Peter' Round 2

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff *Erik' Round 2

Photo Removed

PUMA Clyde x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

adidas ZX 700 x Sneakersnstuff

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff 'The Secret 577' Round 1

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff 'Peter' Round 1

Photo Removed

New Balance 577 x Sneakersnstuff 'Erik' Round 1

Photo Removed

PUMA SNS Basket Hemp

Photo Removed