An astronaut-style Air Force 1, an ice-planet S.T. Dynamite and a hoodie with its own Rayguns minifigure: the Nike x LEGO space collection lands November 2.
A hoodie with a tiny spaceship port on the sleeve and a custom Nike Rayguns minifigure living inside it: that’s the kind of detail that makes the new Nike x LEGO collection hard to ignore, even if you’re well past sneaker size 7Y. Nike and the LEGO Group have teamed up on a space-themed basketball line of footwear and apparel, and it’s every bit as playful as it sounds.
The collection is built for basketball-loving kids. Nike says it channels the energy of the game into pieces that bring “a playful world of space, astronauts and imagination to life,” without taking the sport any less seriously. The brief pairs Nike’s longstanding focus on the athlete with the LEGO Group’s unmistakable design language, and the goal is to help kids feel excited, confident and ready to bring their own style to the game.
Two sneakers, two very different planets
The footwear is the headline act, in sizes from 10.5C to 7Y. First up is the Nike Air Force 1 Low LV8, reworked through a space-exploration lens. Its upper takes after the look of an astronaut’s spacesuit. Sketched stitching gives it a hand-drawn, constructed feel, as if someone assembled it from a blueprint. A LEGO space-inspired Swoosh and minifigure details finish the collaboration.
Then there’s the Nike S.T. Dynamite, Nike’s kid-focused basketball model, which gets shipped off to an ice planet. Color-shifting finishes and a glitter outsole give it a frosty, galactic look. If the Air Force 1 is the mission-control sneaker, this is the one that’s already landed somewhere cold and sparkly.
Tunnel walk, but make it outer space
The apparel imagines basketball in another dimension. Nike describes it as the energy of an outer-space tunnel walk carried into an otherworldly arena, and the pieces together as “the young explorer’s uniform.” Expect space graphics, custom brick-built scenes and hidden character details, all meant to leave room for imagination, humor and discovery.
The lineup, piece by piece:
A printed ripstop pant uses durable materials and space-themed graphics to echo the material story of the Air Force 1.
A full-zip fleece hoodie is the showpiece. It delivers everyday comfort and carries special LEGO space and Nike Swoosh logos, plus a lenticular basketball minifigure patch that changes as you move. Then comes that spaceship-style sleeve port with the Nike Rayguns minifigure.
A graphic T-shirt pairs a short-sleeve cut with the visual language of a basketball uniform, along with space iconography and minifigure touches.
A Dri-FIT mesh basketball short is the one true performance piece. Nike calls it a functional counterpoint to the fleece and ripstop, which makes sense: somebody has to actually be able to play in this stuff.
Who gets it first
The release is staggered. On November 2, the collection arrives at nike.com and at retail locations in select countries across Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. North America waits until November 24, a few extra weeks for families there to circle the date.
The collaboration rests on what Nike and LEGO call a shared belief that play fuels creativity. That’s the official line, but the product backs it up. Sketched stitching, a lenticular patch and a glitter outsole are details designed to be noticed, pointed at and, with any luck, shown off at recess.
It also helps that the clothes are meant to leave the gym. Nike frames the apparel as basketball-inspired pieces kids can wear beyond the court, and with a fleece, a pant and a tee in the mix, that’s a fair promise. Add the minifigure details and you get the rare kids’ sneaker drop that adults will be quietly eyeing on the shelf.
Via Nike Newsroom
