J-Hope and Nigo Teamed Up to Make Sneaker Dynamite

By many metrics, it doesn’t get bigger than the Bangtan Boys. The members of BTS have been on a roll this year, dropping their reunion album Arirang in February and then taking the show on the road for one of the highest-grossing stadium tours of the year. Along the way, each member has taken on a compelling sidequest or two, from Jung Kook stepping in as Hublot’s newest brand ambassador to RM loaning his art collection to SFMOMA for a recently opened exhibition. And then there’s J-Hope, the crew’s resident sneakerhead. After the band previously teamed up with Nike for a line of tour merchandise, J-Hope circled back to the Swoosh for his first-ever sneaker collaboration. And this time, he’s working alongside one of the biggest names in streetwear with him: Nigo.

Nigo is the man behind BAPE and, in a sense, streetwear as we know it. His iconic Bapesta—which bears an uncanny likeness to the Air Force One—upended the sneaker world, and he’s been working with Nike in a much more official capacity these days. Collectively, Nigo and J-Hope—who are also, respectively, a close collaborator and ambassador of Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton—surely have a good sense of what gets people riled up, whether about sneakers or otherwise.

The fruits of the collaboration are ripe. They’ve kitted out a AF1 silhouette from 2001 in a glossy gold and burnt auburn upper, with turquoise accents and chunky knit laces. The left and right shoes feature, respectively, unique “NIGO AIR” and “J-HOPE AIR” branding on the tongue tags, sockliner, and heel, where the traditional embroidered “NIKE AIR” logo usually sits. And for Nigo, it’s the first of many to come—J-Hope is the first collaborator in the designer’s ongoing series of Air Force Ones he’s planning to release with a global lineup of collaborators.

Those looking to cop a pair of the Nigo x J-Hope Air Force One best set their alarms accordingly—civilian sneakerheads are going to have to compete with ARMY for these joints. The shoe goes on sale for $150 on Thursday, October 22via the SNKRS app and select retailers.