Comme des Garçons and Nike have a lengthy history of sneaker collaborations which include styles such as see-through Dunks and deconstructed Air Max 95s, but lately, they are mostly known for toned down black-and-white looks. That will soon change with the preview of an upcoming model Friday at Paris Fashion Week.
Revealed on the runway as part of the spring 2025 Comme des Garçons Homme Plus ready-to-wear line was a new co-branded Nike model in pink and white. Early reports indicate the shoe will be called the Comme des Garçons Homme Plus x Nike Sense 96, but it most closely resembles the Nike Air Max 96 — not to be confused with the more ubiquitous Air Max 96 2 — with some considerable design adjustments.
The original shoe’s signature Air Max cushioning has been replaced with a solid wave-textured sole which forgoes visible bubbles altogether. Like many Comme des Garçons x Nike collaborations, the upper has also been modified, with its cutouts appearing more prominent and puffy than usual.
Watch on FN
The partnership between Comme des Garçons and Nike began in 1999 when Comme des Garçons founder Rei Kawakubo’s protege, Junya Watanabe, worked on a Nike Zoom Haven collaboration. It continued sporadically through the aughts, but really began to pick back up in the 2010s. That era included another pink-colored collab, a trio of Air Max 180s in 2018, which was the last time the two brands used the shade on a sneaker.
Nike often calls on the Japanese fashion label to introduce new retro models. In the fall 2024 Comme des Garçons Homme Plus show, the brand debuted its to-be-released Nike Air Max TL 2.5 collaboration. A standard Nike retro of the Air Max TL 2.5 was previewed Thursday during its SNKRS Showcase presentation.
The Nike Air Max 96 is no stranger to drastic reworks. In May 2021, Supreme redesigned the runner, originally released in 1996, with transparent cutout panels and released it alongside matching socks.
There is currently no hard release date for this upcoming Comme des Garçons Homme Plus x Nike Sense 96 collaboration, but readers can expect it to arrive at retail early ’25.
