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Since debuting in 1999, NikeiD, now known as Nike By You, has allowed users to add energy and identity to some of their most pinnacle products.
The custom design site – and sometimes studio in global NikeTown locations – has tasked everyday athletes and DIY style savants to come up with their own color palettes and make brand favorites their own. Some use this opportunity to tell their own story, others try to recreate grails and many suffer from analysis paralysis when it comes to actually pushing purchase.
With the recent release of the Dunk on the Nike By You platform, it can feel like a one-off situation where the toast of sneaker culture is available for customization. Well, it’s not. From signature styles to revered retros, almost anything and everything has arrived on NikeiD at some point in the last 22 years. See some of the standouts in this walk down memory lane.
Retro Running
Notables: Huarache Run, Cortez, Air Max Day drops, Air 180, Air Max 93, Air Max 1, Air Max 95, Air Max 97, Air Safari
Of all the ‘collectible’ categories to reach NikeiD or Nike By You platforms, few are as embraced as retro running. Catering to a range of collectors well known for wearing their shoes, liking quirky colorways, and appreciating materials, classics like the Air Max 1, Air 180, Air Max 93, Air Max 95, and Air Max 97 all were embraced when the community got the keys.
The catalyst for much of this was the infamous Metropop 180 program in 2005. Bringing the Air 180 to NikeiD as heat around the Air Max 360 and History of Air Pack was building up, this online ability to redress an OG Air Max was unprecedented. Just the same, it was hard to get as only a certain amount of slots were available each day.
Over the course of the years, a variety of Air Max runners have made their way online for customization as have the Huarache Run, Air Safari, and Cortez. Fans have flocked at the chance to recreate grail colorways on a retro running base with premium fabrics, speckled soles, and Flyknit fabric.
Statement Product
Notables: Shox BB4, Free Run, Roshe Run, Shox NZ, Air Force 1, Blazer, Dunk, Cortez, Trainer SC, Chuck Taylor, Sock Dart, Presto, Zoom Janoski, Air Max 2009, VaporMax
If a silhouette is a major part of Nike’s past, present, or future, it’s likely made its way to iD.
Early on, performance pushes like the Shox BB4 and Shox NZ brought new energy to the platform with all-time classics like the Trainer SC, Dunk, Air Force 1, and Blazer eventually finding their footing.
By the mid-2010s, Nike was opening the floodgates with iD. Sportswear silos like Roshe Run were essentially made for NikeiD, taking well to simple blocking, new construction, and a friendly price point. Advanced category definers like VaporMax pushed the envelope for what could be done on iD while simple staples like the SB Janoski also saw a run.
Basketball
Notables: LeBrons, KDs, Kyries, Kobes, Zoom Flight V, PGs, Zoom GP III, Flight 89, LeBron Soldiers, Shox BB4, Zoom Sharkley
Perhaps no category has gotten more play on NikeiD through the years than that of basketball.
From the NBA to AAU, athletes of all ages and abilities have been able to effectively create their own player exclusives on signature styles from the likes of LeBron James, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and even Michael Jordan.
Around the turn of the century when NikeiD first launched, models like the Nike Zoom GP III and Nike Shox BB4 leveraged new technologies and All-Star steeze as a way for amateur athletes to make them their own.
By the late 2000s, it would be NBA rotation players who would use their Swoosh credits to make their own Kobes in team colorways.
By the late 2010s, Nike would in turn leverage those same semi-stars such as PJ Tucker to push their own iDs in pre-designed fashion on Nike Store.
Full circle in design origin, NikeiD would also come around to not just pushing the newest novelties in basketball but also return old favorites like the Zoom Flight V and Flight 89, and even introduce Foamposite options on the LeBron 9.
When it comes to NikeiD, basketball has often done it the best and the biggest.
So, just how big was basketball on iD? When Kobe Bryant – a man who had seen a handful of his signatures hit NikeiD over the years – played his last game, the brand went big with their Mamba Day design for the Kobe 11. The result? The most successful launch ever on the platform with 100% sell-through.
Jordan
Notables: Spizike, Alpha 1, Jumpman Pro, Jordan 2011, Jordan 2012, Son of Mars, Dub Zero, CP3.VII, Team Elite, Fly Wade
Early and often, Jordan Brand has been active in taking risks when it comes to color palettes and new stories. However, it wouldn’t be until about a decade into the NikeiD game that they’d join the platform.
Starting with a trifecta of the Team Elite in 2008, Jumpman Team Pro in 2009, and Air Jordan Alpha 1 in 2010, the brand began to bring out archival team favorites as well as a performance update on the OG AJ1. Moving forward, the modular cushioning systems of the Air Jordan 2011 and Air Jordan 2012 would see modern signatures from Mike take on a life of their own.
Throughout the 2010s, lifestyle would reign on NikeiD with Spike Lee signatures such as the Spizike, Son of Mars, and Spike 40 going wild with cork, elephant print, glow in the dark options, and even suede.
In that same decade, the Dub Zero would also allow itself for customization on the casual front, while State Farm’s Cliff Paul character would optimize new takes on the Jordan CP3.VII.
Collaborations
Notables: Pendleton, Ralph Steadman, Heron Preston, Cactus Plant Flea Market, Metropop, Will Leather Goods, John Elliott, NYLON, Liberty, Patta, Levi’s
The biggest breakthrough that the 2010s brought to NikeiD and thus Nike By You in the 2020s is the idea of the collaborative product.
Originally, fabric purveyors proved the most natural partnership with Pendleton, Will Leather Goods, Liberty, and Levi’s all lending their wool, leather, patterns, and denim to that of custom footwear.
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Later on, storytellers like Ralph Steadman who did the original art for the Air 180 would see his posters and palettes available on the platform to pull from. Around the same era, the likes of Heron Preston, Cactus Plant Flea Market, and Patta would use By You branding to draw parallels to designers and DIYers.
As the Dunk drama unfolds into 2021, is its Nike By You cameo a sign of more styles to come? As history shows us, the customizable platform has consistently evolved and offered new textures to old favorites and more. Will there ever be a day where sneakerheads would rather design their own grails than chase releases? That still waits to be seen.
Header via Flight Club
Image 6 via Getty
All other images via Nike
