Nike’s GTS 97 ‘Valentine’s Day’ Can Be Worn Year-Round

Thematic sneakers are great as they push the possibilities of footwear as a creative medium, but that often is to a fault as it makes them difficult to wear beyond their inspirational context. However, brands sometimes figure out a more subtle way of presenting their auspicious kicks, such as this year’s ‘Valentine’s Day’ release from Nike, which features the GTS.

Rather than plastering love hearts all over the upper, or going for a dramatic all-red colourway like in previous years, this retro Nike shoe instead opts for a soft shade of ‘Sail’ on its canvas upper. Embroidered into the mid panel is a florally display of love hearts and roses, which are stitched tonally, so they’re not obvious until observed closely. Some ‘Velvet Brown’ – though this is something of a misnomer as the colour appears to be more of a dusty pink – on the shoe laces adds a soft feminine touch while remaining fairly neutral to wear. A smiley Swoosh-mouthed face graphic appears on the insoles complete with love heart eyes makes the Valentine’s Day theme fairly clear, and also resembles the ‘Have A Nike Day’ motif that’s emerged lately.

Expect the Nike GTS 97 ‘Valentine’s Day’ to be available well ahead of the actual February event, as these are scheduled to release on January 21.