Concept Lab // Nike Dunk x Air Jordan 1 “College Colors Pack”

Due to popular demand, following our “Michigan” make-up from earlier this week, we’ve whipped up a “College Colors” Collection of Nike Dunk x Air Jordan 1s, featuring a handful of our favorite Dunk College Colorways from 1985.

Nike’s College Colors Program changed the landscape of sneaker culture forever. It was originally designed to tap into school spirit, but in 1986, when their series of college-colored Dunks and matching apparel released to the market, fans finally got something that they could flex to show support outside of a jersey. Before that, sneaker releases were pretty basic; white, black or white and black, as the NBA had strict rules for on-court shoes. It was like nothing people had seen before, and the program helped introduce the Nike Dunk — and sneakers in general — beyond the world of basketball.

An OG Dunk catalog from 1985/86

The OOG pack has inspired many spin-offs, including Iowa’s yellow and black on the Air Jordan 1 Mid “New Love” and the infamous Wu-Tang Dunk, while others like Kentucky already had an OG counterpart on its sister sneaker from 1985. Omitting those, we’ve arrived at four colorways; Syracuse, Georgetown, UNLV and the previously-prepared Michigan. Each pair takes a 1-for-1 approach, ripping the blocking and colors from the Dunk for a straight transfer — and the results are incredible. Four instant classics in the making. Take a peep at all four of our mock-ups below, and make sure you tell us on social which your favorites are!

Wanna see more of our sneaker concept work? You can check out every single one of them right here.