Earlier this week, the fashion industry newsletter SOTA made the claim that running culture is the new streetwear. It is, by its own admission, a bold take but one that has a lot of evidence to back it up — not least of all the existence of the Patta Running Team.
Established in 2010 by Patta co-founder Edson Sabajo, it has grown from being a small group of friends casually meeting up for runs to completing marathons, establishing programs to encourage the youth of Amsterdam to get active, and landing big-name fashion collaborations.
The most recent of those collaborations is with Nike, an extensive collection of co-branded running gear decorated with the running team’s mascot: the Patta Panther. As you might expect from a running club founded by one of the OG streetwear labels, the Patta Running Team doesn’t lace up its running shoes wearing any old gear.
To put the collaboration through its paces, we teamed up with the Berlin Braves, a community sports club, to host a run through Berlin going from the club's base to the Highsnobiety Berlin flagship store.
At the end of the seven-kilometer run, it was time to check out the new collaboration in the store. The collection offers a full kit for runners, spanning from baggy tracksuits and a varsity jacket to wear off the track to technical running gear such as a reflective race suit and a rig vest to easily store belongings while running.
With Patta having started life as a sneaker shop, it's only right the collection also includes a pair of limited-edition sneakers. The Nike x Patta Air Huarache 20Y24 is an upgraded take on a classic Nike sneaker.
The shoe takes the top half from the Nike Huarache Plus and combines it with the sole of a Nike Pegasus. On top of that, premium leather overlays, a mesh underlay, and a nylon webbing closure provide the finishing touches to the sneaker.
At a time when more brands than ever are launching running clubs and there’s no shortage of great-looking running gear on the market, the Patta Running Team is staking its claim as the best-dressed of them all.
