Nike VaporWaffle x sacai

This eye-catching Nike VaporWaffle x sacai sneaker brings together the past and future of Nike’s running division by melding the 1983 Pegasus with the futuristic Vaporfly from 2017. It does so in a classic Black & Summit White colour scheme to ensure that it's as stylish as it is innovative. As the name suggests, it sits upon a waffle outsole with Nike branding embossed in the centre and a ridged grip pad arcing around the heel to deliver all-round support to the wearer. While this feature is entirely black, the stacked midsole exhibits lighter tones as its bottom layer is cream-coloured and its top layer is Summit White with a dash of black on its lateral side. Placed in between these softly cushioned plates is a black wedge that separates them from the heel to the midfoot and juts out at the back of the foot. Here, the pristine white top layer curves upwards to create a dynamic look at the heel.

With such a comfortable and grippy base, the upper is able to focus on style. It does so via more layering, starting with the black mesh that forms the outer from heel to toe. White material can be seen behind this on the flanks, and a black suede overlay wraps around the toe for a luxurious touch, with more of this plush fabric forming the eyestay. Dual lacing ties up over the top of the foot, one set of laces in white, the other black, and the tongue has also been doubled up. Both tongues are black, but the primary one is made of mesh and the secondary one is canvas. Each also has its own white patch, the former decorated with a Nike Sportswear logo, the latter a Nike sacai motif based on the iconic Nike Air branding.

Internally, Summit White mesh fills out the lining, and the similarly coloured insole displays a specialised Nike x sacai logo that intermingles the letters from each brand’s name. The same emblem shows up in black on the white leather heel panel, below which is a black leather heel counter with two holes cut into its sides to reveal the breathable mesh underlayer. White decorations have been printed below the eyestay on each flank, and further down, white leather swooshes extend from the heel counter to the midfoot, bringing about more bold contrasts in colour. Then, on the lateral flank alone, a large white swoosh has been stamped beside the leather one, its inconsistent application adding an appealing handcrafted effect to this captivating hybrid design.