LeBron James’ season may be over, but a lack of on-court activity has never prevented his name from appearing in the headlines. Sometimes, it doesn’t even take The King himself doing anything to make news. While James’ first Nike Air Zoom Generation is a principal here, it’s customs extraordinaire Ant Kai who did the heavy lifting for an insane Louis Vuitton inspired pair.
Alternating between brown Monogram and grey Damier printed leather, the materials for this were taken directly from LV handbags. The “donor pair” for this project was the Air Zoom Generation “Wheat,” a base clearly visible on panel edges and via the sole unit and sockliner. Kai consciously chose to leave those contrast sections intact, mirroring a design choice visible on the officially sanctioned, Virgil Abloh directed LV Air Force 1s. The base again proves to be a prudent choice in the closing details- the gilded translucent tongue tag and eyestays evoke the gold-on-brown palette of James’ actual Louis Vuitton modelling campaign, shot for the SS24 collection and unveiled at the top of last year.
If you’re holding out hope towards copping this pair, you’re working against two major factors. Kai himself expressed hopes at giving them to the King himself, and if that fails, his creations regularly command prices north of $2000. Slicing up luxury handbags for this project would only exponentially raise that price. Nonetheless, this pair speaks to just how far custom sneakers have come, and it’s extremely interesting to enjoy even as a from-afar art piece. Enjoy detailed images just ahead.
For some far more accessible signature kicks, peep the latest on the Nike KD 17, finally launching this week.
