Nike‘s 2021 Dia de Muertos style capsule updates two of the brand’s classic sneakers with family vibes and vibrant colorways.
In 2020, the athleticwear company created four shapes to commemorate Mexico’s annual commemoration of departed souls, which takes place on November 1 and 2. According to Nike, the Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1 will receive an array of colors, reflective treatments, and patterns this year to depict the trek through the “nine-level Mictlan underworld through which infinite family power is achieved.”
The most colorfully diversified aspect of the AF1 is an embroidered Swoosh logo with green, yellow, and blood orange pigments. The leather strips on the midsole are also orange, while the fabric on the toebox is violet to match the collar. The insole features a Siempre Familia graphic that is not evident in the published images.
The AJ1 receives a more animalistic look with a brilliant jaguar print on roughout leather, teeth around the toebox, the words Siempre and Familia divided across two tongues, and an imaginative take on the Swoosh emblem that uses an arrow sketch to form the bottom curve.
While the sneakers are the main attraction, the Dia de Muertos line also includes a bomber jacket and several t-shirts with Mictlan-inspired artwork, including as skulls and bones, the afterlife-guiding Xolo dog, and typical fauna like the iguana and jaguar.
The 2021 Día de Muertos collection releases October 24 at Nike.com in Mexico, October 26 on the Nike App in Mexico, and October 29 globally.
