The sneaker industry is truly a wonderful thing to be a part of. From sneaker trends that come and go to making money and fashion statements, there’s a lot to enjoy! And speaking of sneaker trends, there’s always something new cooking. Some things come and go, some are there to stay. Everything in fashion goes through the life cycle of being relevant, disappearing, and then coming back. And today, we’re gonna talk about the Nike Dunk story. Part of the industry claimed that Dunks are dead, but are they really? Well, we’re gonna take a look at both sides of the story and you can be the judge of that!
Dunks Are Dead – A Discussion
You see, people will have different opinions when it comes to how relevant Dunks are. But we gotta start at the beginning. The Nike Dunk was a basketball shoe that mashed up all our favorite sneakers in one. And the OG target audience was college athletes and their fans since Nike already had deals with multiple universities. Although they were popular for a while, their popularity slowly faded. Better kicks replaced the Dunks in terms of performance, and well, the industry wasn’t as huge as it is today.
Fast forward to the early 2000s, and the Dunks made a comeback under the Nike SB division! But sure enough, that peak in popularity also dimmed, with only the dedicated fan still buying Dunks. At some point, these babies sat at outlets when you could buy them for much less than their original price! And that happened a couple of times, until 2020 when the whole drift changed.
Nike Plays the Hype Game
If 2020 was anything for Dunks, it was a strategic year. Nike played their cards well and at the right time! Slowly, but surely, we saw A-listers with weight in the sneaker industry rocking Dunks. From Travis Scott, all the way to LeBron James’ tunnel fits, Nike Dunks were there. So, that lowkey started creating hype in the back of everyone’s heads.
Why was that move crucial? Because when the Swoosh hit us with the hot collabs, the public was ready to fight tooth and nail for them! That’s obviously a successful marketing strategy because Dunks flew off shelves. Unless you had a sneaker bot or a sneaker plug, you had a slim chance to catch a hot pair. Some collabs are still very valuable like the Chunky Dunky and the Grateful Dead Dunks!
Moreover, Nike knew who to partner up with. Although Ben & Jerry’s and Grateful Dead are cool, they pale next to Virgil Abloh and Travis Scott! And with kicks like these being so hard to get, the hype and resale will go up. So naturally, Dunks as a whole became crowd favorites with everyone looking for an alternative for the alternative.
When You’re at the Top…
… the only way is down. Okay so nobody really said that, but that’s exactly what happened with the Nike Dunk. When we say that Dunks are dead, it’s in comparison to the way they peaked back in 2020. So what really happened? And was it all intentional on Nike’s part? Let’s talk about it!
After a long time hyping everyone up and dropping very exclusive kicks and collabs, things changed. First off, Nike’s Dunk By You took some of the Dunk’s magic and exclusivity. And although the color options aren’t too many, you can still own your 1-of-1 Nike Dunk.
That’s not all. The Swoosh went the extra mile and oversaturated the market with new colorways, restocks, and retros. (Ahem, we’re looking at you, Panda Dunk.) And you know the law of supply and demand, when supply goes up, items get more accessible. Hence, these kicks will lose their aftermarket value, to a certain extent. Some kicks manage to break this rule, but generally, that’s how things go.
A 2025 Update
Let’s start with the financial report that Nike just put out. Revenues are down compared to the last quarter, but that doesn’t seem to bother the brand. On the contrary, that’s apparently expected with the way the brand is shifting its game for the long-term vision. But well, the next quarter is here, and we’ll see the end results in time!
“Our outlook for the second half of fiscal 2025 driven by our ‘Win Now’ actions remains consistent with what we communicated last quarter.” – Matthew Friend, Nike Executive Vice President and CFO
Now, let’s talk about Dunks, shall we? It seems like Nike is now expanding its reach horizontally. In other words, it’s not hyperfocusing on one silhouette and killing it in the process. The brand is actually dropping multiple sneakers and collabs across different sports/hobbies. So technically, there’s a little something for everyone to own. This is an attempt to make kicks available and lowkey stop resellers from winning. And of course, we can notice that on the Dunk level with how much less collabs we’re getting for the silhouette.
With all that said and done, Nike is no stranger to cheeky sneaker releases. That’s why when we heard about the Nike Dunk Low “Dunks Not Dead” we had to talk about it. According to the brand and the design that features cool decorative pins, the name is a reference to Punk’s Not Dead, a phrase that became popular thanks to the 1981 album by The Exploited! So, we will leave it up in the air whether the statement on these babies is true.
So, Are Dunks Really Dead?
Love them or hate them, there’s one solid truth that nobody can deny when it comes to Nike Dunks. They’ve been around since the 80s, and odds are, they’re gonna stay for a long time. Their shine might dull a bit every few years, but they’ll come back… they always do. While we are in the cool-off era, we recommend you make the best of the drops that happen now! Who knows? They might end up becoming valuable in a few years! So, to those who said that Nike Dunks are dead, you say: wait till the next comeback!
Now, when they do come back, you’ll still need a great sneaker bot on hand. And for that, we have NSB3! From Nike SNKRS to Shopify, we’re here to make sure you have the best odds to score kicks for retail. Oh, and you don’t have to wait for Dunks to be hyped again… really. Our blog has all the latest sneaker news to help you choose your next target. Godspeed!
