NIGO and j-hope deck a Nike Air Force 1 Low in squirrel graphics for $150

NIGO and BTS member j-hope have joined forces on a Nike Air Force 1 Low covered in squirrel graphics and retro colorblocking. The pair keeps the classic silhouette's platformed Air sole and perforated toe box, then layers the two collaborators' bright energy over the top.

The release

The sneaker releases on Human Made's website on October 17, followed by Nike's website on October 22. It is priced at $150. Human Made is NIGO's own label, the brand he runs alongside his role at Kenzo and his longstanding work shaping streetwear.

The collaborators

The squirrel is j-hope's signature. The animal started as an inside joke among his fanbase and grew into a defining part of the K-pop star's personal brand, so the embroidered squirrel motif stitched onto the heel reads as a direct nod to him.

The colorblocking is unmistakably NIGO. His BAPE shoes and his Nike Air Force 3 collaborations carried the same energy, and here it lands on the Air Force 1 in the bright, layered panels that have marked his work since A Bathing Ape.

j-hope brings a parallel boldness. The rapper and dancer has cultivated an aesthetic he calls hobicore, a bright and unapologetically vivid personal style that is comfortably beside NIGO's own love of loud retro palettes.

The two sensibilities meet on a silhouette that needs little introduction. The Air Force 1 has anchored Nike's casual line since 1982, and its platformed Air cushioning and perforated toe remain among the most recognizable details in footwear.

The collaboration keeps those signature touches intact rather than remaking the shoe. What changes is the surface: the squirrel embroidery throughout, the heel motif, and the colorblocking that reads as a conversation between a Japanese streetwear pioneer and a Korean pop superstar.

Our take

In our guide to the best white sneakers, we named Nike's Air Force 1 the everyday leather pick for men, a pair clean enough to wear under a suit or with jeans. This version trades that neutrality for loud, collectible graphics.

NIGO's collectible collaborations travel well. His Air Force 3s and his BAPE-era releases remain sought after years later, and j-hope's hobicore following brings a fanbase that moves product fast across both Asia and the West.

The rollout order matters. Human Made gets the shoe first, rewarding the label NIGO owns, before the wider release lands on Nike's own channels five days later. It is a pattern NIGO has used before to favor his independent work.

We have covered Nike's collaborations at length. Our look at the best Travis Scott sneakers runs through the SB Dunks and Air Jordans that turned a rapper's name into resale gold, and this pairing leans in the same direction with a pop star's iconography.

Where Scott's collabs favored earthy, distressed palettes, this one is louder. The squirrel and the retro colorblocking are cheerful rather than gothic, a mood closer to j-hope's onstage brightness than to the darker palettes of past music-to-sneaker pairings.

The $150 price sits at the standard retail mark for a Nike Air Force 1 Low collaboration rather than above it, which suggests wide availability on the Nike drop rather than a tightly allocated handful. Retail pricing that matches the core line keeps resale speculation in check.

The two-step release and j-hope's global following point toward strong initial demand, but the full size run and any regional allocations have not been disclosed.

For sneaker collectors, the appeal is the rare overlap between two distinct fanbases. NIGO brings streetwear credibility built over three decades, while j-hope carries BTS's global reach, making this one of the wider-reaching Air Force 1 collaborations of recent seasons.

That reach is the selling point and the risk. A shoe designed for two audiences can land with both or fall between them, and the embroidery-heavy squirrel treatment reads as unmistakably j-hope rather than neutral enough for the everyday rotation.

Still, the silhouette guarantees a floor of demand. The Air Force 1 remains one of Nike's most purchased shoes, and our style coverage returns to it again and again precisely because it rewards both a clean fit and a loud retelling.

Collectors who want the NIGO-owned label's packaging or any difference in the drop details get five days to try before Nike's own channels open.