From the Vault: Concepts x Nike SB Dunk High "When Pigs Fly"
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By Stadium Goods |From the Vault: Concepts x Nike SB Dunk High "When Pigs Fly"
A look back at the classic Dunk High colorway by Concepts.
Matt DeSciora
There has been no shortage of wild Nike SB Dunks over the years, many of which we’ve featured in our monthly From the Vault series here on the Stadium Goods Journal. But with all due respect to the legendary colorways we’ve posted, it’s hard to say that many are more imaginative than the SB Dunks by Boston-based sneaker boutique Concepts.
When you think about Concepts’ most creative colorways of the venerable skate shoe, you probably think about its famed “Lobster” series first and foremost. And rightfully so. It’s the collaboration that put Concepts on the map, and the collaboration that many sneaker collectors say helped prolong the SB Dunk’s popularity by a few years in the late 2000s. After the “Lobster” collection, the next Concepts collaboration you think about is the “Ugly Christmas Sweater” SB Dunk. Inspired by ugly Christmas sweaters and their ironic rise in popularity, the “Ugly Christmas Sweater” series has included several popular and festive colorways.
As great as those collaborations are, it’s Concepts’ Nike SB Dunk High “When Pigs Fly” that might be the retailer’s most compelling release.
Concepts x Nike SB Dunk High “When Pigs Fly”
Debuted in 2012, the “When Pigs Fly” doesn’t immediately jump out at you from a design standpoint. Its mostly monochromatic pink suede construction is surely more subdued than anything from the “Lobster” or “Ugly Christmas Sweater” collections. But that’s by design and part of its charm. It goes back to how the “When Pigs Fly” came to be.
As the story goes, Concepts had submitted an SB Dunk Low colorway to Nike SB that was inspired by skaters getting kicked out of places they weren’t permitted to skate at. The shoe’s details included overtures to police, including carbon fiber overlays and a state-trooper-inspired material that was to wear away to reveal a pink underlay. Ultimately Nike SB nixed the idea, and suggested that Concepts go back to the drawing board and come up with another idea instead.
Up against a four day turnaround time, Concepts met with the creative team at Nike SB to trade design ideas. It was during one of the meetings that Nike SB rep Will Campbell told Concepts’ Creative Director Deon Point that one of his outlandish ideas would come to fruition only “when pigs fly.” That, according to Point, got the ball rolling for the concept of the “When Pigs Fly” colorway.
While Campbell provided Point and Concepts with the initial idea, the “When Pigs Fly” SB Dunk High is actually said to be inspired by the movie Porky's, a raunchy comedy that was released in 1981. The colorway’s pig suede upper references a pink Hudson Hornet driven by the mayor of the city in which Porky’s takes place. Its Metallic Silver Swoosh is a salute to the outlandish car’s chrome accents.
No matter which Concepts x Nike SB collaboration is your favorite, everyone can agree that no one does sneaker storytelling quite like the Boston sneaker shop. And no shoe has been the canvas to more creative colorways than the SB Dunk.