The Most Legendary Sneaker Packaging Ever!
From hand-made treasure chests to stone-cold marble mausoleums and polystyrene crab shacks, there is no limit to the creativity that can elevate the humble sneaker box into work-of-art status. Produced purely to generate hype and envy, these uber expensive masterpieces are generally given away to insiders and influential types in the game.
From the SS35 ‘White Box’ to the ‘Pitch Black’ that arrived in a sexy aluminium Rimowa suitcase complete with electric toothbrush, this is our long overdue guide to some of the most extravagant sneaker packaging ever devised. We’d love to tell you what these amazing packages are worth, but production numbers are super tight and they rarely trade on the open market.
Your guess is as good as ours.
Michael Lau x Nike (China BMX)
To celebrate BMX’s inclusion in the Beijing Olympic Games, Nike SB tapped acclaimed Hong Kong artist and toy designer Michael Lau to represent the host nation. The end result was a striking Blazer SB and bike-ready Dunk Gyrizo, both resplendent in China’s signature yellow and red colour combo. Sold at retail in the traditional Nike SB gold box of the period, a limited run of 106 pairs of the Blazer SB were encased within this huge ‘mud-cake’ vinyl box. Looking more like a gigantic turd that has been compressed into a cube, the glossy brown box certainly provokes interesting reactions. ‘Beijing 08 BMX’ was embossed into the lid, together with Lau’s ‘crazysmiles’ production name. The particular package we were gifted also included the Dunk Gyrizo, a retrospective of the BMX bible Freestlyin’ and an exclusive Lau-designed vinyl figure of a Chinese BMX rider and his trusty steed, both of which are rocking the yellow Blazers.
2011 Nike Mag
Back in 1989, Back to the Future Part II depicted a pair of self-lacing Nike ‘Mag’ sneakers from the future – 2015 to be precise. As it turned out, we only needed to wait until 2011 for Marty McFly’s footwear to become reality. Global media went into overdrive when Nike dropped news of the ultra-tech high-top and auctioned them through eBay in support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. By Nike’s own admission, there were no freebies on this one. It didn’t matter who you were, if you wanted a pair you had to front the cash and support the charity. By the time the dust had settled, the highest price paid was $9959.
Each pair was packaged within a blinding yellow, magnet-sealed, flip-top, cardboard box. Labelled with ‘Magnetic Anti Gravity’ tags, the Mags were housed snugly within foam inlays along with a charger to power up the shoe’s internal batteries. Also included was a pamphlet featuring Tinker Hatfield’s illustrated instructions, a metal licence plate featuring a unique serial code for online registration, and a DVD with a product announcement video and Back to the Future trailer. A UPS sticker stating the package had been shipped from Hill Valley, California, was another sly BTTF reference.
A further 10 pairs were sold through live events held around the globe. The ultimate prize for BTTF nerds, these Mags were nestled inside a yellow road-case that was styled after the plutonium containment chamber in the original film. Auctioned off at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood, the first pair was bought by Tinie Tempah, who walked away victorious after forking out a staggering $37,500!
Ben & Jerry’s x Nike SB ‘Chunky Dunky’
The was one of the biggest releases of 2020, maybe because a year of turmoil had most people wishing they could just curl up on the couch and eat ice cream straight from the tub. And it was that visceral feeling of holding the ice-cold cardboard container that was tapped for the Family and Friends packaging of the ‘Chunky Dunky’, with pairs arriving in oversized Ben & Jerry’s tubs, decorated in the iconic brand’s typically vibrant manner. Those packs also came with a co-branded shoe horn and tote bag, but the real MVP was that cardboard packaging. Simple but effective.
Nike SB Blazer (Fly Milk)
While most people prefer to gloss over the less salubrious aspects of their curriculum vitae, Jeff Han’s prior line of work has been forever memorialised in this quirky Nike SB colab from 2007. Having spent his days peddling milk in a suit and tie before founding FLY Skateshop, Shanghai’s first specialist spot, Han chose to dress his Blazer SB in a scheme inspired by his days as a professional ‘milkman’. The gum-soled kicks also featured a ‘missing’ message on the heel aimed at the AWOL Jeff, who abandoned his ‘career’ to open FLY in 1999. The limited release version took the lactic theme one step further, packaging the Blazers in this over-sized milk carton. This release might not feature in the upper echelon of all-time packaging based on dollars invested alone, but it does prove that a sense of humour and a rad concept can still make for an inspired release.
Nike Kyrie 4 Cereal Pack
Sneakers and nostalgia go hand in hand, and that’s arguably what made the Nike such a killer combo. As well as featuring colourways that celebrated, in no particular order, Lucky Charms, Kix, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, special editions of the collection came in cereal box–inspired packaging, complete with co-branded bowls and spoons so you could munch down on your favourite breakfast options in style. When these released back in 2018, some extra lucky locations enjoyed pop-ups in grocery stores, complete with cardboard shelving to drive home the cereal vibe. This tasty trio was sugar-sweet in more ways than one!