sacai, the Japanese label led by Chitose Abe, first showed two Nike shoes on its Spring/Summer 2019 runway in Paris: the LDWaffle, which Nike describes as a fusion of the Waffle Daybreak and the LDV, and the Blazer Mid. Nike introduced them officially on May 6, 2019, and both went on sale that month. More colorways followed later in 2019. We made it internally, Nike Brand Design EMEA with Nike Sportswear, and Nike Brand Design briefed and creative directed the outside agencies.
Why it looks like this
Two shoes folded into one. Nike’s product copy calls the LDWaffle “a fusion of two iconic silhouettes, the Waffle Daybreak and LDV.” Abe told Senatus, “I express the end result as a ‘hybrid,’” and Nike’s Cooke said the work began with “two photocopied pictures of two different shoes that they folded in half and put on top of each other.”
Betrayal and stability. Sneaker Freaker reported that the release was framed around two themes, “betrayal” and “stability.” The betrayal sits in the doubled-up elements and exaggerated midsoles; the stability comes from classic, retro-inspired colorways.
I express the end result as a ‘hybrid.’
Chitose Abe, founder, sacai, source
