Nike VaporWaffle x sacai

The lush tones of Tour Yellow & Stadium Green used on the upper of this Nike VaporWaffle x sacai sneaker give it a powerfully nostalgic feel, while its doubled-up features deliver a dynamic aesthetic. It has been constructed upon one of Nike’s earliest and most reliable foundations – the waffle outsole. As such, the sole’s black surface is characterised by rows of cuboid grip pads that extend from the toe all the way to the heel. Here, the very back part of the outsole is marked by parallel lines that bring additional traction to the heel, while a classic piece of Nike branding is embossed below the arch of the foot. Layered atop this grippy structure is a stacked Sail midsole with a foam wedge inserted into its rear half. This separates off the top layer of the midsole, which then curls up over the heel for an intriguing appearance. Meanwhile, a strip of black on the lateral forefoot contrasts against the off-white tone coating the rest of the feature.

The upper then brings splashes of colour to the sneaker, firstly with its Tour Yellow mesh underlayer, which spreads across the shoe from forefoot to heel, providing cooling aeration to the whole foot. Tour Yellow suede has been used to form the eyestay, for an added hint of luxury, and two pairs of laces have been threaded through the eyelets, one white, the other black. This is the beginning of the design’s dualistic look, which comes from the fact that it was inspired by two heritage Nike silhouettes. As a result, there are also two tongues – a primary one made from white mesh atop a secondary one formed out of black canvas. The former has a white label in its peak with a Nike Sportswear logo woven through it in black, while the latter uses white text on a black background to distinguish a special Nike sacai motif upon its surface.

The inner is coated in a soft white mesh that spreads across both the walls and the insole. Another Nike sacai logo has been printed in black upon this last feature, this time the two brand names intermingling to forge a captivating new emblem. Back on the outer, brown shapes emerge from beneath the edges of the eyestay, and slender leather swooshes adorn the flanks in the verdant tone of Stadium Green. A notched mudguard made of high-quality suede encircles the toe, also in Stadium Green.

At the other end of the shoe, two Stadium Green pieces of leather envelop the heel, the lower one with a hole in each side that reveals more of the yellow mesh underlayer. This overlaps slightly with the heel tab above it, whose surface displays another Nike sacai logo in black. A strip of Stadium Green fabric rises up the centre of the heel to offer the wearer a convenient pull tab for when they are putting the shoe on.

A mini Tour Yellow swoosh highlights the heel, before another one of these instantly recognisable logos shows up unexpectedly over the leather swoosh on the lateral flank. This one is much bigger than the others to be found across the outer, having been painted in a gentle off-white tone over everything from the heel counter to the sidewall swoosh, the forefoot overlay and even the midsole, thus finishing off this retro-looking sneaker with a distinctive and fascinating design detail.