Nike is the biggest sportswear brand in the world, with much of their revenue driven by the sales of shoes that are so desirable that a number of people pay above retail prices to secure them after they’ve sold out.

The company began in 1964, when a sportsman, Phil Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman began supplying people with running shoes. Knight went on to become one of America’s richest businessmen at a current net worth north of $30 billion, taking the lions share of the sneaker market that is only rivaled by Adidas who is doing a good job of catching up.

Much of the most desired models from both Nike and Adidas are the result of collaborations with famous celebrities. By bringing outsiders on board, the shoe appeals to different audiences such as fans of the celebrity in addition to sneakerheads.

Although Adidas is doing a good job of catching up and is rumored to have Drake on board soon, at the time of this writing in the summer of 2018, Nike have had some of the best collabs ever this year.

Here are some of the best:

stockx Off White Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Hi
The Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star Hi x Off-White on Stockx.com, the most reputable place to buy sneakers

Virgil Abloh’s Off-White “THE TEN” Nike Collaboration

The most important one for hypebeasts is “THE TEN” by Virgil Abloh, who founded OFF – WHITE, an Italian clothing brand. In this collaboration, Abloh redesigned the 10 most influential shoes that Nike has made (in his opinion).

This included models such as the Jordan 1, the Air Max 90 and the Air Force 1. He redesigned them in his own style, which is ‘deconstructed’. This collaboration opened up Nike’s market to the ever growing Hypebeast market and also to the High Fashion market. For example, a new Off – White x Nike Blazer was revealed at Paris Fashion Week. The Off-White collection has many different resell values as there have been many different models released. As Nike has owned Converse since 2003, Abloh chose the Converse Chuck Taylor as part of this heralded ten, and it quickly became one of the most valuable shoes to acquire with a potential profit of 1000% or 10x your original investment of $130.

All of these shoes are now worth at least twice what they retailed at, making for a strong business opportunity that many act upon and build a livable income off of. (If you’re interested, check out the Hypemaster Playbook here)

There have been many other collabs that Nike have been involved in this year.

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Travis Scott x Nike Air Jordan 4

Travis Scott Air Jordan 4
The Travis Scott Air Jordan 4 had incredibly high resale values when they first dropped. They now resell for less but there is still profit to be had in them.

One of their newest partnerships has been with rapper Travis Scott. He recently released his version of the Jordan 4 in a blue colourway. This sneaker is highly coveted by people who are interested in streetwear.

He has another version of the Jordan 4 being released near the end of this year in a dark green ‘Cactus Jack’ colourway. Travis Scott is a hugely popular celebrity, with nearly 10 million followers on Instagram.

The Travis Scott x Jordan 4 retailed for $225 and it currently resells for about $450 (rising). They are more popular in North AmericaAnother collab which was hyped up by streetwear enthusiasts in Europe was British grime artist Skepta’s model of the Air Max 97.

Skepta x Nike 

Skepta Air Max 97 2017
The coveted Skepta Air Max 97 , featuring the rapper in this picture from Nike.com

Skepta put a twist on the classic Air Max 97 air bubble by putting the body of the Nike Air Classic BW on top.

These sneakers sold out across the globe extremely quick, as they were a very nice design.

Nike knew it would be a success, as it was Skepta’s second collab with Nike.

The rapper had previously redesigned the Air Max 97 in 2017 in a way that gave the model much value on the aftermarket.

The Air Max 97/BW SK retailed for $190 and it resells for about $300.

These sneakers are more popular (and expensive) in Europe.

Sean Wotherspoon’s Air Max 97/1

Sean Wotherspoon AIr Max 1/97 record price sneakers
Sean Wotherspoon AIr Max 1/97 sneakers sold for a record price of nearly $100,000. Source: EBay.com

Nike held a competition in 2017 called Vote Forward.

Various different shoe designers entered from all over the world, and the owner of vintage clothes and shoe reselling shop ‘Round Two’ in LA called Sean Wotherspoon won.

Nike let the community choose which sneaker would win from a selection of 12, and Wotherspoon’s design won. He won with a design of a hybrid between two Nike classics; the Air Max 97 and the Air Max 1. He used the Air Max 97 body on top of the Air Max 1 bubble. It features a corduroy finish.

This was one of the most hyped shoes to release this year, as it is so unique.

The very first early pair to hit the market sold for an astronomical price of nearly $100,000, giving a strong signal for a high price for the general release that came shortly after.

The shoe had a small release near the end of 2017, and the resell hit over $1000. The general release date was on the 26th of March 2018. It was extremely hard to cop these shoes as the whole sneakerhead community wanted to get their hands on the sneakers.

The retail was $160, and they now resell for over $600.

Supreme New York and Nike Air Force 1

From highsnobiety.com, the black and white NBA x Supreme x Nike Air Force 1's
From highsnobiety.com, the black and white NBA x Supreme x Nike Air Force 1’s remain one of the best collaborations this year.

Nike have also collaborated with the famous skateboarding and streetwear brand Supreme this year. The two brands have a strong bond and share the same rabid audience of edgy fashion lovers.

We saw the first collaboration between the 2 brands in 2002, when Nike’s sub brand Nike Skateboarding (Nike SB) partnered with Supreme to create a version of the Nike SB shoe, which became a smashing success and held resale values in the thousands of dollars over its retail price of only ~$100.

This year, Supreme collaborated with the basketball side of Nike.

A collection of NBA related clothes came along with a much anticipated model of the Nike Air Force 1 Mid.

The shoe was released in black and white colourways, complete with different emblems of some of the best NBA teams as well as a Supreme logo featured on the side of the heel.

These Air Force 1 Mid retailed for $165 and they currently resell for around $220, with initial highs earlier this year hitting over $400 for a nice profit of over 100% on original investment.

From rappers to high end designers and gritty sneakerheads, 2018 has been a very important year for Nike’s growth in collaborating with other artists, and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing what is in store for the rest of this year!

For those who would like to jump into the exciting world of buying and selling sneakers as a business, check out the highly reviewed, 280 page in depth Hypemaster Playbook.

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Alex W. Smith

Alex is a sneaker collector turned reseller. As a reseller he has supplied some of the top stores in Europe with sought after shoes. He is the leader of Winner's Circle and has taught hundreds of people how to begin and scale their reselling business.

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