G-Dragon and Nike have teamed up for a shoe that’s just daring you to challenge any dress code that may come your way.
The Kwondo 1 is an all-white, Swoosh-branded dress shoe born in collaboration with PEACEMINUSONE, the clothing brand from the man known as “The King of K-pop.” Part-brogue and part-sneaker, it’s unlike anything we’ve seen since Tom Sachs’s super rare creation with Nike and Cole Haan.
Laces for the Kwondo 1 are shrouded by mismatched flaps with the logos of the two brands debossed on the left and right shoe. Wing-tip decoration on the premium leather upper dresses up the shoe even further, with a stacked midsole adding more elevation in both senses of the term. But as smart as the Kwondo 1 may look, it still has its roots in a wide range of athletics that bridge skateboarding and martial arts.
Digging into the source material —
The Kwondo 1’s uncanny silhouette is a mashup of the nearly 30-year-old Pegasus 83, the contemporary skating stalwart Janoski, and tongues seen on soccer cleats throughout the ‘90s. Taekwondo contributes to the name, which is also intended as a pun on “Just Do It,” while elements of golf and bowling footwear are echoed on the shoe.
Charting all these sources of inspo may feel like a Charlie Day conspiracy board, but you just need to look at the Kwondo 1 to see that it’s absolutely dashing. Sunflower embroidery on the mustache and repeats of the motif on the treadless outsole only add to the fun of this sneaker oddity — and you should absolutely pursue it even if you’ve never heard of G-Dragon.
K-pop stans may give you ample competition, but there’ll be plenty of avenues to purchase apart from the standard SNKRS app release at 10 a.m. this Friday, February 25. Bodega, Social Status, A Ma Maniere, and others are holding raffles for the Kwondo 1 this week. As one last form of encouragement, we’ll challenge you to find a better dress shoe anywhere at $180.
