Nike SB Appeals to Your Inner Foodie With the Dunk Low "Street Hawker"
Brand: Nike SB
Model: Dunk Low
Key Features: The Nike SB Dunk Low "Street Hawker" references specific elements from Chinese street food vendors and Chinese cuisine in general, featuring a chopsticks-inspired brown Swoosh and an embroidered coin on the heel signifying payment for a meal. You can dive into all the additional details below.
Release Date: January 22
Price: $110
Buy: Local skate shops and Nike SNKRS
Editor’s Notes: Following teasers, Nike has officially announced the "Street Hawker" Dunk Low. The colorway was initially thought to be a Chinese New Year colorway, however, we've learned that the outlandish iteration — designed by Guangzhou artist Jason Deng — is a nod to Chinese street food vendors.
The Nike SB Dunk Low "Street Hawker" draws from the bonding effect food culture has throughout China. Deng ultimately looked to six regional dishes from six Chinese cities as the primary source of inspiration, while also referencing other elements of Chinese cuisine.
With so much going on in the design, Nike has helped us all out by pinpointing 22 things to know about the "Street Hawker" Dunk Low. You can learn more about the colorway below, as we've provided the breakdown directly from Nike.com.
Left Shoe
1. The left shoe uses a lighter beige for three flour-based dishes.
2. The suede toebox mimics the color and texture of green bean soup (Douzhi) from Beijing.
3. Donut (Jiaoquan) patterns on the forefoot pair with the green bean soup.
4. Embossed suede on the lateral side shows shredded pita bread pieces for a traditional Xi'an dish: pita bread soaked in mutton soup.
5. That mutton soup is represented in water-color patterns across the lateral side.
6. The Swoosh is depicted in a wood-grain texture to represent chopsticks.
7. On the lateral heel, water-color fading looks like Shanghai plain noodles, also called Yangchun noodles.
8. An embroidered 10-cent copper coin appears on the lateral heel, hinting at Yangchun noodles.
9. The left insole resembles a blue sky, inspired by traditional Chinese slang implying that people treat food as their heaven.
10. The blue lining of the left midsole mimics the blue-and-white of fine porcelain bowls.
Right Shoe
11. The right shoe features hotter colors to represent different heats, from spicy to sweet.
12. The metallic color on the right toebox is pulled from Chengdu hotpots in which dishes are cooked.
13. Boiling chili-oil treatments bubble around the toebox.
14. Ostrich leather on the lateral side is inspired by the crispy roasted goose skin that’s famous in Guangzhou.
15. The silver Swoosh resembles the metal hook used to hang the roast goose.
16. The flame and Lychee wood used to roast the goose appears in a watercolor pattern around the eyelits.
17. Shaved ice and taro balls — a common Taipei dessert — can be found on the heel counter.
18. The insole paints the scene of a bench terrace, a landscaping method used to grow rice paddies.
19. The collar lining reflects the color of meat dishes.
20. The yellow outsole represents cooking oils.
Both Shoes
21. Heel tabs feature Chinese calligraphy for “food” in black and white thread.
22. Four colors of laces are inspired by four essential seasonings in Chinese cuisine: green (shallots), yellow (ginger), white (garlic) and black (black pepper).
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