The latest Nike Kyrie signature sneaker adds Irving’s personality along with classic detailing.
Benjamin Nethongkome returns as lead designer of the sixth Kyrie model, having designed Irving’s sneaker from the Kyrie 3 on. From a first impression, the shoes look like the Nike Air Yeezy 2, Kanye West’s last sneaker with the swoosh. The midfoot strap on the Kyrie 6 notably mirrors the placement on the Yeezy 2, albeit with performance in mind. This strap helps increase stability and arch support for Kyrie and guards rocking the sneaker.
Irving’s love of Nike SB sneakers helped inspire another performance feature: a padded tongue for added comfort. The sneaker further gives off a retro ’90s vibes with premium leather on the heel. This combines with new-school ballistic mesh on the toe area for a relaxed feel on the upper.
At it’s core, the Kyrie 6 is still one of the best guard shoes on the market. The sneaker boasts even more court-feet with the last/midsole dropped 5mm lower, providing quicker reaction time. This combines with the curved Air Zoom Turbo unit in the forefoot to enable responsiveness at all angles.
The traction has always been paramount to the Kyrie line and the 6 continues this trend. A curved outsole allows Irving to maintain balance when attacking the basket in drastic degrees. This time around the traction rides up the midsole all around the shoe, providing grip at all angles.
Personal touches can be seen throughout the shoe, with Kyrie’s tattoos playing a part of the design. This includes the healer’s hands, Hamsa eye symbol, his number 11, as well as his mantra “hungry and humble.”
The Nike Kyrie 6 will debut with a preheat collection of 11 shoes inspired by 11 cities personal to Irving. This includes Beijing, Berlin, Guangzhou, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Miami, New York City, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo. These 11 colorways will drop November 11 exclusively in each city.
The Kyrie 6 “Jet Black” seen above releases on November 22.
Images courtesy of Nike News
