1985, the year of the college dunk. Nike releases the original 7 college Dunk, some of the most storied programmes in college basketball now had the shoes that bled their colors. Michigan, UNLV, Villanova, Kentucky, St Johns, Arizona, Iowa. Born from the Nike Terminator, the original 7 dunks represented the first time Nike had introduced an integrated collection of basketball warm-ups, uniforms and shoes.
Introduced as a technical basketball at the time, what the dunk really represented was an explosion of colors. From a pure color and design aesthetic, the dunk was one of the biggest breakthroughs in the history of Nike dunks.
Then true to the Nike formula, the dunk went away. It has lived one season and done its job. It broke new ground, showing sneaker enthusiasts what it could be done with new colors.
But the original 7 weren’t dead and buried.
They simply lay dormant, waiting for their chance to return in vintage style. Because of their color schemes and rugged build, they developed a cult following in both the skate and sneaker communities; a cult that paved the way for a rebirth of the dunk 2 decades later.
It was 2008: the year of the dunk. Nike produced 5 custom-made lockers with the 7 original college dunks. We were really lucky that Nike presented Royalefam with one of them.
SBTG and hence, Royalefam, got started because of our founder’s love for kicks, of which the original vintage dunks featured prominently. Now having built both a career and a company based on that love and those sneakers, we have taken it upon ourselves to give vintage a new groove. Having never before had all 7 dunks in our possession, SBTG Custom Kicks now pays tribute to the original college dunks with our spin on things, putting a twist on the college colours.
Firstly we researched the 7 colleges and what had made each of them stand-out. From the players who became superstars, the coaches that were legends or the fight songs and mottos that said it all.
We used the most relevant from each and stencilled them on the dunks. These were combined with Royalefam’s trademark hand-painted camo designs done in both the school colours and complimentary shades. Giving a new aesthetic to an old classic. Always remaining true to the school.