Patta x Jordan - .@Nike

Patta x Jordan 

The best collaborations stem from unabashed passion. This is true of the Patta x Jordan collection, inclusive of the Air Jordan VII “Patta,” a track suit, shorts, T-shirt and bucket hat, which marks the first time Jordan Brand has partnered with a European brand. TEAM PATTA uses the relationship as a conduit for relaying personal nostalgia about the Jordan VII and the early '90s to their current audience.

For Patta’s Guillaume Schmidt and Vincent van de Waal, the Jordan VII was the logical starting point for working with Jordan Brand. Launched in ’92, and subsequently eternally tied to that summer’s USA Basketball team, the Jordan VII arrived at a transformative point in both men’s youth and their respective interest in the culture they live and work within.

“It was a golden era for hip-hop. It was a big time for me, a lot of very important albums that I carry with me still came out between '92 and '96. And aesthetically, those years had such strong, colorful and connected relationship to black empowerment. The VII also has a reference to Africa,” says Guillaume, a native of Suriname who grew up an hour from Amsterdam in basketball-crazed's Hertogenbosch.

The Patta x Jordan Collection releases May 18 at Patta’s Amsterdam and London locations, as well as on patta.nl. It will launch June 15 on the SNKRS and SNKEAKRS app and at select retailers.