Mayumi Yamase Decorates New Nike Flyleather Collection

Nike have been regularly rolling out their popular sneaker designs made using Flyleather, one of the brand’s newest strategies to minimise the impact of shoe manufacture. Each year, Nike have enlisted the talents of various international artists to add their creative touch to these future Flyleather classics: Ruohan Wang coloured three models in 2020, and the year before that, Steven Harrington decorated some Swoosh icons for Earth Day. 2021 sees Japanese painter Mayumi Yamase apply her signature paintstrokes to the Air Force 1 and Blazer Low.

Nike Flyleather may consist of at least 50 per cent recycled leather fibre, but its surface looks exactly like any other smooth grain leather. One of its beneficial properties is its readiness to take on pigmentation, so graphic treatments like those of Yamase’s hand-brushed style are easily applied. Colourful strokes are almost haphazardly drawn onto the Swoosh, heel and forefoot of the AF-1 and Blazer, and are finished with custom tongue tags. The AF-1s are also sat atop yellowed ice soles for a very gummy look.

The Mayumi Yamase x Nike Air Force 1 and Blazer will release on May 19 via Nike SNKRS, the NikeLab MA5 store in Tokyo, and Dover Street Market Ginza.