Beginner's Guide to Nike Dunks

History of the Nike Dunks

Nike introduced the Dunk in 1985 as a performance basketball shoe for NCAA athletes. Initially named the College Color High, Nike realized the silhouette’s scheduled release date coincided with the 40th anniversary of the first slam dunk, leading Nike to relabel the shoe as the Dunk. 

The Dunk’s official unveiling came as part of the “Be True to Your School” campaign, which encouraged colleges to color-coordinate their shoes and uniform. Eight high-top colorways (the Georgetown-edition Nike Terminator being a final inclusion) were released, immortalized in a now-famous poster that positioned the Dunks next to corresponding tracksuits.

Designed by Peter Moore—mastermind of the Air Jordan 1—the silhouette bore architectural similarities to the flagship Jumpman sneaker, while maintaining aesthetic elements of the Delta Force and Terminator models released the same year. Defined by clean lines and balanced color blocking, the shoe speaks to a timeless design language. It is optioned in high-top and low-top variations.

Despite its popularity, the Dunk, relatively pared back in its technical composition, eventually became obsolete on the hardcourt, being replaced by more innovative performance shoes that offered superior comfort and support. But its story was a long way from being over. 

Where basketball players looked toward technologies that augmented speed and stability, skateboarders required protection when taking to the streets. The Dunk, durable and tough, was a perfect fit for their needs. 

Nike Dunks Cultural Relevance 

As skateboarding transcended the periphery to enter wider public consciousness, Nike and other sportswear brands attempted to match the pursuit’s growing popularity with specialized shoes. After several lukewarm releases, Nike made inroads with the specialized SB (skateboarding) line in 2000. Heading up the project was Sandy Bodecker, who cemented the Dunk’s authenticity and cultural relevance in skate circles. 

An updated, skate-specific version of the shoe named the Dunk Low Pro arrived in 2004. The silhouette’s momentum was carried forward by limited edition releases and a vast number of collaborations.

In 2001, Stüssy was cast as the Dunk’s first-ever external collaborator, overseeing two high-tops and one low-top. A year later, Supreme applied an irreverent touch to the Dunk, outfitting the upper in an elephant-print pattern sourced from the Air Jordan 3. 

The Dunk’s cachet grew as the decade progressed. Diamond Supply Co. dressed the shoe in Tiffany’s iconic robin egg blue color scheme, causing a viral sensation. The hype was matched by Jeff Staple’s frenzy-inducing ‘Pigeon,’ which brought a street in New York City to a standstill on release day. Yet sneaker relevance tends to oscillate and interest in the Dunk cooled off as the 2010s approached and more technical styles caught the public’s eye.

Fast-forward to 2018 when a new generation of skate-influenced designers began to exert authority upon the style sphere. Rarities unearthed from the archive became the footwear of choice for influential cultural figures such as Travis Scott and Virgil Abloh. Aware of the Dunk’s resurgence, Nike enlisted an eclectic supporting cast for a fresh collaboration program. Ben & Jerry’s ‘Chunky Dunky’ and the Grateful Dead’s ‘Bear’ series made for esoteric inclusions, offset by innovative contributions from Scott and Abloh. 

Today, Scott is synonymous with the Nike Dunk. His own versions comprise colorways ‘Reverse Mocha,’ ‘Cactus Jack’ and a third-party creative tie-up with Sony PlayStation. Abloh’s Off-White, meanwhile, first partnered on a Dunk with Flywire over-lacing in 2019, before working on a collection of 50 pairs in what was one of the late designer’s most expansive projects with Nike.