As styles from Supreme and Nike SB's forthcoming five-colorway set of SB Dunk Lows continue to roll out, a clear direction for the collection's theme has come into focus: suede uppers, bold shades, familiar branding. Now, however, we're getting a look at the process behind the product thanks to the reveal of an early sample iteration of the collaboration, one that offers a medley of hues and materials.
Much of the shoe is similar to the collection's "Ink" colorway, thanks to a mixture of grey, black and rich purple shades. The final branded embellishments are present on this sample too, as can be seen by the lateral heel's "94" embroidery and the debossed Supreme logo on the midsole. Things start to get interesting, however, on the toebox and eyestays, which swap out the familiar materials for a pastel yellow leather on the lateral eyestay and toebox as well as a slime green suede on the medial eyestay.
We're venturing into the world of hypothesis here — so bear with us — but in all likelihood, nothing close to this colorway was ever supposed to see the light of day. The abrupt swap of material on the toebox and lateral eyestay indicates that this may have been a simple material test more than a palette interpretation. The colorblocking looks more like a Nike By You design performed by a hopped-up teenager than a palette assembled by professional designers, and the abrupt switch of materials also indicates that various leathers and suedes were tested before the final design. Nevertheless, a look at a sample like this one is a fascinating behind-the-scenes peek of how, exactly a footwear collaboration comes together across multiple rounds of sampling.
Enjoy the images above, look at some of the release colorways — "Ink," "Camper Green" and "Fog" — and expect the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low to touch down alongside Supreme's seasonal collections in 2025.
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