words // Brandon Richard
images // Yulia Nidbalskaya
Today, companies pull inspiration from all facets of life when conjuring up colorways to apply to sneakers. Just last season, we saw a LeBron 11 inspired by LeBron James’ hometown of Akron, a KD 6 inspired by Kevin Durant’s love of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a unique colorway of the Kobe 8 tied to Kobe Bryant’s passion for soccer. These colorways allow designers to give sneakers fresh, never-before-used looks that are still relevant to the signature athlete.
Another source of inspiration designers occasionally pull from are endorsements. While we don’t see them often (mostly for legal reasons), cross-branded schemes can add a unique, collectible element to a signature line. The best example is LeBron’s ‘Sprite’ series, which started with the officially marked LeBron 3 Low in 2006 and still runs unofficially today. There’s also Dwyane Wade’s Gatorade-themed Way of Wade 2s, and NIKEiD recently teamed up with State Farm to bring Cliff Paul’s argyle option to the CP3.VII.
On the heels of the ‘Sprite’ LeBron 11 Low release, we wanted to see what other past and present signature shoes would look like in colorways inspired by the wearer’s other endorsements. A few technically aren’t sigs, but you get the point. Scroll through the renderings and let us know which of these colorways you’d like to see become a reality.
Michael Jordan: Air Jordan 3 x Wheaties
Shaquille O'Neal: Reebok Shaqnosis x Taco Bell
Grant Hill: FILA Grant Hill 2 x Sprite
Penny Hardaway: Nike Air Penny 2 x Upper Deck
Carmelo Anthony: Jordan Melo 1.5 x Chocolate Milk
LeBron James: Nike Zoom LeBron 4 x Dunkin' Donuts
Kobe Bryant: Nike Zoom Kobe 6 x Smart Car
Russell Westbrook: Air Jordan XX8 SE x Subway
Kyrie Irving: Nike Zoom HyperRev x Pepsi
Kevin Durant: Nike KD 7 x Sprint
