Few things bring people together like cooking and good food in general. You add the allure of the sneaker world to the mix and you get a recipe for perfection (most of the time). The well for great food-themed sneakers and the creative packaging, marketing, and release strategies behind them is far from running dry. Even in early 2021, we’ve got great drops like the Nike SB Dunk Low “Street Hawker” showing that creativity is still at full-force.
With that in mind, SoleSavy has decided to take a look at some of the all-time greats in the realm of food-themed kicks. Spoilers: the vast majority are from the geniuses at Nike SB. We looked at the full package – design and storytelling – when deciding on our picks. What are your favorites? Anything missing you would have added to our list?
11. AriZona Iced Tea x adidas Yung-1 & Continental 80
When these first released for $0.99 a pair during a pop-up in New York City, riots broke out which resulted in the whole event being canceled by NYPD. To make up for the setback, AriZona eventually held an online contest where the 1000 pairs of special edition Yung-1 and Continental 80 silhouettes were given away for free. The shoes themselves were very loud design-wise reinventing the construction of each shoe in two “Green Tea” and “Southwest” colorways to match with two flavors of the beloved beverage. Stay calm in FCFS lines, folks.
10. Nike SB Dunk High “Chicken and Waffles” (2016)
No other shoe from Nike has used this particular texture on a shoe’s upper before but its implemented perfectly on this honeycombed “Chicken and Waffles” Dunk High from 2016. The faux-syrup drip on the Swoosh predates the Chunky Dunky by three years and almost matches it in its absurd concept. A translucent brown midsole finished off the glossy look of this oft-kilter hit from Nike SB.
9. Momofuku x Nike SB Dunk High Pro (2017)
Created with celebrity chef David Chang and founder of world-famous, Asian-American restaurant Momofuku, its namesake Nike SB Dunk High Pro collaboration was a pleasant surprise in 2017. Released in the summer of Clad in a black denim upper reminiscent of the restaurant staff’s aprons the shoe features an embroidered peach on the lateral heel (Momofuku means “Lucky Peach” in Japanese). These were a lovely homage to a high-class restaurant that doubled as a subtle if-you-know-you-know kind of flex.
8. Sneaker Politics x Saucony Shadow 5000 “Café Du Monde” (2019)
Often overshadowed by the plethora of high profile Nike SB releases, Saucony and Sneaker POltics tapped into a stroke of creative genius with their stylish and beautifully packaged Shadow 5000 “Café Du Monde”. Another nod to Louisiana cuisine, the shoe is named after the titular New Orleans cafe, with the full project making multiple references to the cafe’s menu and ambiance. Light brown nubuck is paired alongside white speckled, mocha brown overlays resembling both coffee and the city’s world-famous beignet pastry. The beignet was invented way back in 1862 and this sneaker feels like a love letter both to the beloved cafe and the city that birthed it.
7. Nike SB Dunk Low “Street Hawker” (2021)
The most recent pick on our list, the “Street Hawker” from artist Jason Deng is a masterclass in mixing art, culture, and fashion into one. With its overlays proudly displaying a collage of Deng’s watercolor paintings of six different regional, Chinese dishes combined with the myriad other food references, this shoe is jam-packed with details. From laces to mixtures of different textures of leather and suede, every part of this mismatched SB Dunk Low pays homage to some of the most popular Chinese cuisines out there. The shoe’s beautiful overlays keep it from being too visually jarring.
6. Nike Air Max 1 “Curry” (2003, 2018)
The Nike Air Max 1 “Curry” is a little different from the other shoes on our list. Originally released in 2003, the shoe dropped as a normal General Release, free of the marketing and collaborative work of more high-profile releases. Unlike today when even GR New Balance and Dunk colorways can sell out without a moment’s notice, being into sneakers is still a niche rather than the phenomenon it is now. All of the love for this colorway came as a direct result of its flawless design. Those early 2000s Nike designers took inspiration from something as innocuous as curry and built a color palette for the ages. The subtle hits of blue on the eyelets, tongue, and Air bubble alongside the rich, brown tones just works. The shoe was eventually re-released with some help from atmos in 2018 alongside a “Green Curry” and “Red Curry” colorway, but the OG is still where it’s at.
5. Ben & Jerry’s x Nike SB Dunk Low “Chunky Dunky” (2020)
Weeks after their highly-limited, worldwide release in mid-2020, one of my close friends’ managers pulled him aside at work asking if he knew where he could get “one of those Ben & Jerry’s Nikes”. It’s an endearing, funny story that just goes to show the sheer reach these kicks made in the mainstream last year. As stated in our SoleSavy Community’s Best Sneakers of 2020 list: “Whether you loved them or loved to hate them, the conversations it started were everywhere“. My friend’s boss was not a sneakerhead, but that didn’t matter, the “Chunky Dunky” hype is here to stay.
4. Rukus x Nike SB Dunk SB Low “Crawfish” (2014)
A spiritual successor of sorts to Concepts’ “Lobster” Dunks, Louisiana-based skate shop Rukus also went down the seafood route for their own 2014 collab. Lousiana is famous for their cajun spiced seafood boils, of which Crawfish are often the main attraction. As a result, the Rukus x Nike SB Dunk Low “Crawfish” featured a fuzzy red suede upper with speckles of black mimicking the look of a seafood boil. Bright yellow, quilted ankle collars resemble corn while the silver toebox is akin to cutlery. Newspaper graphics are used for the side paneling to reference the paper plating you’d find around the table resulting in an all-over cheeky nod to a regional specialty while simultaneously pulling off a fire colorway.
3. Nike SB Dunk Low “Heineken” (2003)
Here is that rare case of non-intentional storytelling taking precedent over original intent and resulting in one of the most coveted shoes ever. Infamously recalled from store shelves and bootlegged to no end in the years that followed, the Nike SB Dunk Low didn’t set out to make the cultural waves it did. Nike is rumored to have produced only shipped 4000 pairs of the “Heineken” Dunks before the Dutch beer company caught wind of their trademarked star logo and strikingly similar shades of green and red being used without their permission. Had these been a true collaboration between the two brands it’s likely they would still prove popular, just nowhere near the levels of infamy they now hold in sneaker history.
2. Concepts x Nike SB Dunk Low “Lobster” (2008, 2009, 2018)
We’ve sung the praises of Concepts’ “Lobster” series before. Released in multiple different colorways over the years, these set off a still-reverberating wave of uniquely packaged, marketed, and designed sneakers. The OG “Red Lobster” from 2008 was packaged like a lobster dinner and every version of it afterward came with its own spins on the formula. There’s the Its DNA can be found in similarly hyped Grateful Dead Dunks or the extravagantly presented CLOT Air Force 1s and just about every post-2008 sneaker on this list. They’re Concepts’ best collaborative project to date and have earned their spot as one of the best shoes of all-time.
Honorable Mention: Pizza Hut Pie Top & Pie Top II (2017, 2018)
The Pizza Hut High Top could order you a pizza. This thing was peak sneaker-tech and I don’t wanna hear about no “Air Mag”.
1. Dave’s Quality Meats x Nike Air Max 90 “Bacon” (2004)
For the uninitiated, Dave’s Quality Meats was one of, if not the first, concept stores. Its name was taken from Ortiz’s “M3AT” graffiti tag and the name of a local butcher shop “Dave’s Quality Veal”. At DQM, the whole shop was themed like a butcher shop, complete with a glass freezer filled with store product. When graffiti artist and DQM founder David Ortiz was eventually contacted by Nike to potentially design his own shoe, he procrastinated to the last minute. After three months of designer’s block, Ortiz’s inspiration struck as he ordered a bacon, egg, & cheese sandwich the weekend before his deadline. In a “it’s so crazy its might just work” stroke of luck, the folks at Nike loved his proposal and the Air Max 90 “Bacon” was born.
When the shoes first dropped almost two decades ago, only 48 pairs were available and took two whole days to sell out. A larger re-release was eventually held a few years later and soldout in extravagant fashion with lines stretching around city blocks. Its origins are quirky and unpretentious and the final product is a masterclass in storytelling and great design. Rumors have been circulating for the last two years or so that Nike will be reissuing these bad boys in 2021 and, frankly, we hope it’s true. Like Ortiz says: “At the end of the day, they’re just sneakers, and you might step in shit“. Shoes are meant to be worn.
We’ll gladly take two pairs for the road please, Dave.
