Nike’s now-regular collaborations with Japanese designer Chitose Abe’s luxury-casual fashion house Sacai have quietly become a fixture of sneaker collections all over the world, with the duet’s signature doubled swoosh popping up on the feet of athletes and celebrities as often as you’ll probably spot them on the subway, at the office, or even at the gym. While the collab has yielded its share of modern classics—we’re partial to the original Vaporwaffle in black and white, simple yet versatile—the two brands have worked together on a range of excellent footwear, from riffs on the Blazer and the Cortez and beyond.
But if the Nike x sacai pairing has started to feel a little bit too familiar lately, their latest collaboration is bound to break the mold. Say hello to the new Nike x Sacai x Jean Paul Gaultier Vaporwaffle Woven, which elevates the pairing further by adding an entirely different iconic fashion house to the mix. The combination makes perfect sense in light of Abe’s role as the current creative director at Gaultier, but there’s a lot more to this collab than just an additional name. It’s nothing short of a ground-up reinvention of the Nike x Sacai style. What else would you want from something bearing the JPG label?
From its quilt-like woven patchwork upper to its doubled laces and tongue, the Nike x sacai x JPG Vaporwaffle Woven is a strikingly original variation on the collab’s earlier Vaporwaffle designs, taking inspiration from the history of both fashion houses in a way that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new. And while the clean white version is bold enough—that check pattern adds loads of texture—it’s also available in a vibrant multi colorway that spans red, green, yellow, and blue, wish a subtle splash of orange along the midsole for good measure. Make no mistake: this is not just another Nike x Sacai collab. It’s very much its own beast, and that’s why we like it.
The Nike x Sacai x Jean Paul Gaultier Vaporwaffle Woven will be released this Wednesday, November 22 exclusively on the Jean Paul Gaultier website.
