From the Vault: Premier x Nike SB Dunk Low & High “Northern Lights”
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By Stadium Goods |From the Vault: Premier x Nike SB Dunk Low & High “Northern Lights”
Looking back ten years later at the celestial Nike SB Dunk pack by Premier.
Matt DeSciora
After an incredible run in the early-to-mid 2000s, the Nike SB Dunk was no longer the darling of sneaker culture by the early 2010s. Still, the model was a formidable canvas for the skateboarding community to get creative with during that era in sneakers, as seen by Michigan-based skate shop Premier’s Nike SB Dunk High & Low “Northern Lights,” released in 2014. Jokingly nicknamed the “Yeezy” on message boards and social media due to its resemblance to the Nike Air Yeezy 1 “Blink” (or similar Air Yeezy 2) the “Northern Lights” was actually inspired by the unique lights of the Aurora Borealis.
With this year being the 10th anniversary of the “Northern Lights” SB Dunks release, we thought it would be a fitting choice to kick off our “From the Vault” series in 2024.
Premier x Nike SB Dunk Low “Northern Lights”
The Premier x Nike SB Dunk “Northern Lights” was released in both high and low-top styles, with the low-top version releasing on November 22, 2014, and the high-top version releasing a week later on November 29. Both pairs were released in limited quantities at Premier Skate, and other select Nike SB account retailers, in typical SB Dunk fashion for that time period.
Yes, it has a strong resemblance to the Air Yeezy 1 “Blink,” but the SB Dunk “Northern Lights” differentiates itself from its black, pink, and mint green counterpart with details such as a black suede construction with reflective stars on the heel overlay and Swoosh, a unique red and pink graphic print on the collar, and Premier’s signature branding on the tongue tag and insole. The sneaker’s standout feature is its mint green glow-in-the-dark outsole that shines in the dark as an homage to the Aurora Borealis… and, just maybe, the Air Yeezy, too.
Premier x Nike SB Dunk High “Northern Lights”
There have been several Premier x Nike SB Dunk collaborations over the years, including the SB Dunk High “Win Some/Lose Some” of 2018, and the SB Dunk Low and High “Petoskey” of 2013 and 2014, respectively. But the “Northern Lights” is the skate shop’s most notable project to date, and one of the best and most creative SB Dunks of the 2010s.