Style
Skepta and Nike's first soccer boots will be matched by a Tailwind V
Following up his first butterfly release from April.
After a hiatus in 2020, Skepta and Nike’s “Sk” line has made its return in rapid form. A butterfly-inspired Tailwind V released last month was the British rapper’s first sneaker in two years, and not long after he began teasing his first Nike soccer boot. Now, we’ve learned the Phantom cleat will drop alongside a matching Tailwind V for his third shoe of the year.
The two shoes, one for the pitch and one off, continue to take inspiration from butterflies that Skepta sees as representative of creative metamorphosis. Wavy stripes on each sneaker now come in a deep red that’s even more striking than the blue on the initial Tailwind V. Helping them to stand out further are chrome accents, as well as an iridescent heel nodding to the thermographic cover art for Skepta’s most recent album, Ignorance Is Bliss.
A Nike first — With the release of the Phantom, Skepta becomes the first musician to get his own performance soccer boot. Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford has already shown off his pair, and you can bet plenty more players will wear them on the pitch this summer — especially his countryman.
“I love the culture around football as much as the game,” Skepta said in a release. “I’m really into the culture of football jerseys for what they represent. They represent ‘team.’ Going to matches is sick too. When you go to a match, you experience live people, live audio, all the things that the TV might miss... you really feel it more than see it or hear it when you’re there.”
Those who don’t have use for a bonafide soccer boot will still be able to get on the collection with the Tailwind V, a sneaker first released in 2000 and now updated with the butterfly-like cage from 2007’s Tailwind V Plus.
Just under a month to go — Skepta’s Phantom and second Tailwind V of the year are slated to release June 12, with more specifics on the drop still to come. The blue Tailwind V that released earlier this year retailed for $180, and in-line Phantom boots typically sell for $275 a pair.
You’ll have a month to decide whether you want a shoe for playing in or one for living in — or perhaps both.
