A first look at Nike and Virgil Abloh’s 50 Off-White Dunk sneakers

The rumors are real, and they’re spectacular: Off-White and Nike will indeed team up to release a whopping 50 different versions of the Dunk Low. Nike confirmed the collaboration in the stories of its SNKRS app, teasing an overwhelming amount of slight variants for the sneaker designed by Virgil Abloh.

Off-White and Nike’s remixed Dunk silhouette differs from their most recent release, which transformed the more-than-30-year-old sneaker with a heavily rubberized upper. This time around, a leather upper returns with two sets of laces, one being wide-lace, and the signature tab affixed to the Swoosh.

48 of the 50 sneakers start with the same white and grey color scheme as the base, with numerous different color combos on the accents as the distinguishing factor. Each is commemorated with its edition out of 50 on a label affixed to the midsole — which should add “What number do you have?” into the sneaker lexicon very soon.

Two of the fifty standout — Editions “1 of 50” and “50 of 50” are the only sneakers that deviate from the white and grey base, which of course means they’ll be the most coveted. The first instead opts for an all-white upper with reflective silver Swoosh and a faux-aged sole, while the last is murdered-out with the exception of the same silver Swoosh and purple accents.

For the other 48 sneakers, the wide-laces and eyelets, tab, zip ties, edition label, tongue, and sock liner are where the differences lie. We can pretend that sneakerheads will choose their favorite combinations of yellows, blues, greens, etc. when it comes time to purchase — but the reality is that consumers will get what they can get and be more than satisfied, regardless of if they actually wear them or flip them to some poor sucker who wasn’t so lucky.

Now we wait — Merely acknowledging that the 50 Dunks exist is enough for Nike and Off-White to send the sneaker world into a scurry. Rumors of the collaboration have circulated throughout 2021, with the reported number of sneakers releasing increasing from 20 to 50 as the months went on.

How or when the new Off-White Dunks will release has yet to be announced — but they drop all at once or are rolled out over time, expect it to be the sneaker event of the year.