Philadelphia is finally getting it's moment to shine in the sneaker space as Nike gets set to the release the Dunk Low Retro PRM "Philly", a shoe that embodies the gritty culture of the city. Over a year in the making, the "Philly" Dunk, which drops on Thursday, 5/30 exclusively in-store at Lapstone & Hammer and Crème, was created through a collective design process between Nike and actual Philadelphians with the intent to craft a shoe that would authentically represent the city from a local's perspective.
The ball got rolling on this special release when Nike reached out and said they wanted to design a Dunk inspired by Philadelphia, a real "For Philly, By Philly" concept that would deliver something beyond just the Liberty Bell and cheesesteak iconography that is usually used to represent the city. Members of Nike's creative team came down to the city and were treated to a guided tour led by the unofficial mayor of Philadelphia Brian Nadav, exploring all of the different neighborhoods and low key local landmarks.
The culmination of the tour was a focus group comprised of local Philadelphia artists, musicians, designers, business owners and other influential residents who expressed what the city means to them, what gets overlooked or is unknown about the city and its culture, how they would like to see Philly's image projected to the outside world, what they like and don't like about past Philly-centric design concepts and the way the city is currently perceived. The ultimate goal was to bring everyone together as visionaries to bring Philadelphia's rich cultural tapestry to life using the sneakers as a canvas.
Inspired by the “City of Neighborhoods” moniker that Philadelphia received from it's collection tight-knit communities, the "Philly" Dunk uses a mixed material makeup of grey hairy suede, cracked leather and brand new material called rusty suede to represent the cityscape, concrete, construction, grit, and diversity of our people and our hard work ethic. The colorful inner sock liner shows a map of Philly and is a call to the vibrant art scene and the world renowned Philadelphia Mural Arts program. The green and yellow laces represent the street signs that connect us all. The grey medial swoosh wears away to reveal the same multicolor pattern from the lining below, representing Philly’s tough outer shell that, once you're able to break through it, exposes a colorful, vibrant and beautiful community of people living and working together to make this the best city in America.
The Nike Dunk Low "Philly" will release on Thursday, 5/30 @ 10:00am in-store only at Lapstone & Hammer. Lapstone will host a daylong special release event featuring DJ Big Ant spinning from 3-5pm and a Design Workshop featuring master craftsmen BJ Betts and Frank Cooke from 5-7pm. This workshop is open to the public, and will feature 20 kids from the KB Foundation as part of our mentoring program who will be actively participating.
BJ Betts is a world renowned tattoo artist that literally wrote the book on hand lettering. He will teach various lettering hand styles and logo design techniques, and how they evoke emotions and personality.
Frank Cooke is a legendary sneaker designer and creative best known for his work with Jordan Brand and Wish ATL. He will talk about creating storytelling and narratives as it relates to sneaker design, and will show examples of how he takes a blank cad and turns it into a final sneaker design.
Both men will give a quick talk and demonstration of their respective crafts, then work with the participants to create their own design. The kids from the KB Foundation will have their design lasered onto a pair of sneakers that will be provided to them by Lapstone as part of the workshop.
The Nike Dunk Low Retro PRM "Philly" will be available FCFS in men's size 6 - 14 for $135 on Thursday, 5/30 @ 10:00am in-store only at Lapstone & Hammer, 1106 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia.
