Martine Rose is announcing her second collaboration with Nike. The launch coincides with the Women’s Euros that kicks off in Manchester and celebrates women in football and underground British subcultures.
Marking the launch of her latest Nike collab, Martine Rose reimagined the Nike Shox silhouette to feature a pointed toe and extended heel that resembles a mule dress shoe. The new Shox MR4 is Rose’s take on the Shox silhouette, a shoe with a prominent place in underground subcultures – and the British grime scene in particular. The shoe will come in black, white and a limited-edition silver colourway and will be available on Rose’s e-store.
The MR4 will feature an elevated shox that resembles a heel and is styled as a mule. The shoe resembles the square-toed mules from Rose’s eponymous label, which has become a mainstay and signature of the brand.
Women’s football has been around for several years but does not get the same recognition and fanfare the men’s game enjoys. The campaign for the shoe features nine women chosen by Rose, Tama Rothstein – her long-time collaborator, and photographer Pascal Gambarte. The nine women are chosen from across Europe, and the campaign aims to uplift women footballers and bring to attention the most prominent figures of the sport. Hope Powell, the first full-time coach of the England Women’s football team and first Black England coach, is cast alongside Marta Corredera, the highly decorated Spanish footballer, as well as Ruth Ruano, the footballer and pilot who is best known for her breastfeeding her daughter in the dugout, and Jasma, the Afghan footballer and schoolgirl who fled Afghanistan for Austria.
“We recognize a great opportunity to really focus on women and football and then make a trainer that is almost like a smart shoe”, Rose said.
The shoe is the first release from a wider collection between Nike and Martine Rose that will continue to produce ground-breaking pieces over the coming year. The second instalment of the collaboration follows The Lost Lionesses, a virtual experience that marked the Nike x Rose’s collaboration. The project took inspiration from one of football’s greatest moments when a group of 14 women travelled to Mexico City in 1971 to play in an international tournament.
Photography by Pascal Gambarte. Shop the Martine Rose x Nike Shox MR4 here from July 7th.
