Five of the Most Deadly Shark-Inspired Sneakers
It’s Shark Week, so swim between the flags, treat all open wounds; and if you’re really stuck, strike it right between the eyes. Lucky for you, we’ve already been circling the best shark-inspired sneakers over the years. If you manage to catch one of these suckers, make sure to style ‘em with healthy amounts of BDE — sharks smell fear, blud.
JEREMY SCOTT x ADIDAS ORIGINALS 'SHARK'
This eyesore from 2015 is more disturbing than legit shark attacks. Not sure what kind of water was running in Jeremy Scott’s Moschino back then, but this baby is volatile. Inspired by the great American fossil burners of the 60s, this Jeremy Scott x adidas colab even comes with LED brake lights, giving everyone in the office enough time to plot their escape route. I mean, you’re not going to lose a leg wearing these, just a hell of a lot of self respect.
NIKE AIR VAPORMAX PLUS 'SHARK TOOTH'
Sean McDowell originally came up with the TN design while on holiday, when he looked out to a golden sunset and a smattering of palm trees. However, there’s nothing remotely relaxing about this 2018 design. Maybe McDowell took another holiday and this time around witnessed one of those sloppy, sexy holiday shark attacks with bikinis, booze, coconuts and half-cut Americans spelling out S-H-A-R-K to I-don't-give-a-f*** bartenders. This vicious VaporMax dropped in May.
SNEAKER FREAKER x PUMA BLAZE OF GLORY 'SHARKBAIT'
Yeah, that’s right — we linked up with PUMA back in 2013 to pay our respects to the sea. We built the ‘Sharkbait’ with premium leather and mesh uppers, along with the kind of blue colourway you’ve only ever seen CGI’ed over luxe travel advertisements. You know what money can buy? A gold shark tooth. Our resident Captain Ahab tore it straight from a Great White, so you didn’t have to.
NIKE AIR MAX PLUS FUSE 'LE REQUIN'
The French originally dubbed the ‘Hyper Blue’ TN from 1998 ‘Le Requin’ (the shark), because the sneaker looked nasty as hell. In 2016, Nike brought it back from the depths, giving the Air Max Plus a shimmering, shark-like pattern splashed up against a bleached midsole.The colourway had the working title, ‘Swimming Pool’. Honestly, we’ll take le requin over the pool any day — we'll pass on the Band-Aids, plantar warts, public change rooms and PE teachers. Oh, let's not forget granddaddy’s golden flask (sup, K-Dot).
NIKE KOBE VII 'GREAT WHITE SHARK'
Kobe may have been known as the 'Black Mamba', but he was ripping his competition apart limb from limb back in 2012. Kobe scored 30+ points in 10 consecutive games, the longest streak by an NBA player after turning 34. Featuring heavily was the the Kobe VII ‘Great White Shark’, with its ocean ripple colourway and shark stamped on the heel. It proved somewhat of an omen. On April 12, 2013, Kobe went down with a devastating Achilles injury that put the superstar on the sidelines, 80 games into LA’s regular season. It wasn't a shark attack, but it certainly was a tragedy for Lakers fans.