Another NBA All-Star game is upon us, which means another special lineup from Nike. This year, the sports brand paid homage to the annual event's host city with a New Orleans-themed line of sneakers that included the Kobe 9, LeBron XI, and KD VI.
Designer Erick Goto, who has worked on Nike' Basketball products for the last six years and been involved with projects like the brand's Galaxy and Area 72 packs, as well as the recent Kobe Prelude Pack, talked about doing the color designs for this year's All-Star sneakers.
"In the past, we’ve done really bright expressions. The whole Galaxy thing," he said. "We thought we’d like to tone down color this year and really amp up texture and detail. It’s a really fresh way to deviate from what we’ve been doing."
Marc Dolce, who worked on the Nike Sportswear products for this year's NBA All-Star game, talked about the Gumbo variations of the Lunar Force 1. "It keeps the aesthetic of the Air Force 1, but if you wear these all day, they look so much better on your feet. We were already doing so much to the upper, that it was just about finding that balance."
Dolce also touched on working on hybrid sneakers of the Penny Hardaway line. "I came to Nike with a list of things I wanted to do. Once I came to Nike, I realized depth of story was important and once I did the 1/2 Cent with Li'l Penny, it was a fun way to bring that line back to life."
