Following the launch of his first Puma sneaker, Skepta revisited his past Nike collaboration. For the first time, he expressed dissatisfaction with it.
"Made bangers at the last place and they still treated me like an influencer because I haven’t been to school for shoe design. Everything happens the way it should, I proved myself in Portland time after time, and now we’re in Nuremberg with a much better situation for ourselves as a team."
- the British rapper said in a series of Twitter posts
Between 2017 and 2021, Skepta introduced six sneakers and a set of soccer boots in association with Nike. These were new color versions of existing models rather than entirely new designs. In contrast, the grime artist's debut Puma sneaker is his first original design.
The Skepta x Puma Skope Forever, which launched last week, is nearly sold out in most sizes during its retail availability. Exhibiting a black color theme with a radiant pattern that comes alive under light, the unique sneaker embraces the prevalent aughts running trend in the industry with a combination of suede and synthetic leather displaying wavy lines. Its radiant shine has also led to comparisons with his Nike debut, the Air Max 97 Ultra 17.
Limited opportunities exist for Nike collaborators, particularly musicians without any formal design background, to create their own model. Kanye West, now referred to as Ye, was the pioneer in this category for Nike, releasing the first of his two Air Yeezy models back in 2009. Meanwhile, Travis Scott carved out a similar path just this year for the Jordan Brand.
Skepta's affiliation with Puma was revealed by the brand in 2022, together with a promotional campaign featuring the star. His Skope Forever sneaker debuted during London Fashion Week towards the end of last summer, even before the official announcement was made in May.