The Dunk’s Not Dead! Declares Nike
Thrashed canvas fabric, velcro-ed down Nike swooshes, and pebbled leather aside, Nike’s new punk-inspired Dunk sneaker makes a bold statement. On a removable pin, Nike declares: Dunk’s Not Dead.
This pin references Punk’s Not Dead, a phrase popularised by the 1981 debut album by Scottish band The Exploited. However, it comes with an added layer of meaning.
While Nike will claim that this pin is intended only to reference punk music, the American sportswear brand will undoubtedly know that it is a provocative statement. At a time when many sneakerheads have declared that the Nike Dunk hype is dead, it is an inadvertent clapback at the naysayers.
The Nike Dunk isn’t as popular as it was five years ago. That’s a fact, and there’s data to back it up: According to StockX, the Nike Dunk has seen a 41% year-on-year drop in sales on the resale site.
The days when every new colorway of the sneaker seemingly sold out are long gone. That doesn’t mean there aren't noteworthy, great-looking Dunk sneakers are being released, but the amount of attention around the model has certainly declined.
No longer the sneaker model of the moment, the Nike Dunk has to do more than it did before to get chins wagging — whether that be bringing grails back from the past, wild fabric executions, or, in this case, a provocative statement.
Expected to be released in Spring 2025, this punk-inspired Nike Dunk achieves attention through provocation.
