Dunk (footwear)

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The Nike SB "Diamond" Dunk designed by Nick Tershay of Diamond Hardware (otherwise known as the "Tiffany" for its striking resemblance to the signature mint colored Tiffany & Co. jewelry box).

The Dunk was first introduced by Nike Inc. in 1985. As the Nike Terminator’s "fraternal twin", originally having numerous colors in most sizes (Hi-Top or Low-Top) for various Universities and Colleges, the Dunk has transformed from a basic basketball shoe into a subcultural icon and an inspiration for fashion and art.

1 Designed for Basketball
2 The Return Of The Dunk
3 Rooting into Skate Culture
4 Popularity Within the Sneakerhead Subculture
5 Prices Rise with "Hype"
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Designed for Basketball

The Nike Dunk has a lower profile outer sole than its parent shoes. The intent was a lighter weight and staying closer to the ground. In addition, the paneling was revised to improve basketball game performance during pivoting and blocking. The Dunk was used to spearhead what Nike called the ’College Colors’ program. They signed some average college basketball teams (and their coaches) to an exclusive Dunk sponsorship deal; in simple terms, the deal meant that each colored pair of Dunks matched their uniforms.

The following universities were elected by Nike to be part of the College Colors program:

[edit] The Return Of The Dunk

1999 Rapid/Storm Grey Dunk High, Among the first non-university colors.

In 1998, Nike began production of the Dunk once again. Initial releases were classic team colors, but new non-team colors were soon introduced. At this time, Nike often released the same dunk in two different versions consisting of reversed colors. The dunks released from 1998 to 2000 featured a nylon tongue and arch supports, distinguishing them from today's dunk releases. In 1999, Nike introduced the first Pro B dunks. They had additional padding for skateboarding and would later evolve into the popular "SB" models. Overall, the reintroduction of the dunk proved to be extremely successful.

[edit] Rooting into Skate Culture

Nike's basketball shoe line was fairly popular in the skateboarding scene, and the Dunk soon became a popular shoe for riders due to the stability and lower profile sole which improved grounding performance. After some time, Nike created a Dunk specifically for skateboarders, known as the Nike SB Dunk. It features an extra-padded "puffy tongue" (common among skateboarding sneakers) and Nike's patented Zoom Air insole. Since then, the SB Dunk has become a popular subcultural icon for sneakerheads, or enthusiastic sneaker-collectors. Nike currently collaborates with many designers to create special edition and collectible Dunks, from Diamond Hardware's Nick Tershay to the popular graffiti artist known as Futura.

Currently, the Dunk SB line is in its sixth series, sporting a new black and purple box. Among the first five series of SB Dunks are the "Send Helps", designed by Todd Bratrud, "Eires", by Liam Sean Martin, and "Volcanoes" (also known as Pele's), which are designed after state of Hawaii.

[edit] Popularity Within the Sneakerhead Subculture

The Nike Dunk's attractive design and technological implementation have caused the shoe to quickly make its way into the sneakerhead subculture. That SB Dunks are produced in limited quantities had further increased their appeal. The shoe has rapidly became popular internationally, specifically in Japan, the United States, Europe, and Korea. However, fakes, often Chinese-made, are plaguing online auction sites as well as illegal retail websites and often trick naive sneaker enthusiasts into buying them for lower, and sometimes even high, prices. The knock-offs also confuse dedicated sneaker enthusiasts about which shoes are real and which fake because most often no differences are apparent.

[edit] Prices Rise with "Hype"

The SB Dunk is sold to stores for fairly low prices, with recommended retail prices anywhere between $65.00-$99.00. However, since they are popular among collectors and skateboarders alike, stores tend to raise the prices on the shoes based on the demand for them. This often happens when a shoe is "hyped" up, or overly talked about and anticipated, then bought at much higher prices by the masses than suggested retail. Hype is considered "dangerous" by many sneaker enthusiasts, due to the fact that Nike has lowered the quality of materials and manufacturing for the Nike SB Dunk since the first generation of shoes were released, whereas the prices of the shoes sold by stores hike higher and higher -- some of the more rare, "limited", or hyped shoes sell for over a thousand dollars a pair. During many initial releases of limited Dunks, long lines have formed at retailers. At one specific store in New York during the release of the infamous "Pigeon" dunk, a riot formed. The New York City Police Department contacted taxi cab services to transport away those lucky few who actually received the sneakers, and after the rowdy crowds dispersed, knives and baseball bats were found laying in the streets.