Bird is the Word: Jeff Staple Returns with the Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Black Pigeon’

The NIKE SB DUNK LOW ‘BLACK PIGEON’ heralds a return and refresh of perhaps the poster child of the Nike SB legacy: the Pigeon Dunk.

The Nike SB Dunk Low might have started life as a basketball shoe, but by fattening the tongue, the collar and Zoom Air insoles, those clever folks in Beaverton, Oregon transformed it into a skate shoe, making its debut in 2002 as the torchbearer of the Nike SB line. The Dunk SB was the first silhouette to really catch on with skaters, despite Nike’s earlier efforts to crack the market. The Dunk SB proved to be a strong shoe to work on as regards to collaborations. Some of the finest collaborations of all-time began life on the Dunk (such as the Supreme Dunk collection, the Diamond ‘Tiffany’ Dunk and many others), and Jeff Staple’s ‘Pigeon’ Dunk was one of the first releases to really get attention beyond the core ‘heads of the time. With only 150 pairs available for retail, the chaos that ensued when they released at Staple’s store back in 2005 made the news, as people fought like crazy to get their hands on a shoe that redefined the word ‘hype’. Regardless of the hype, it remains a great looking shoe – certainly one of the best and most desirable collaboration releases of all time.

For this new edition, Jeff and Nike SB have reworked things to give the iconic embroidered pigeon the whole spotlight. Known as the ‘Black Pigeon’, this version has been constructed in nubuck and Stetson Waterproof weather, with the classic padded thick tongue and heel lobe offset by a newly reworked outsole – a first for the Dunk SB. To round things off in proper style, the original pink SB shoebox has been resurrected just for this release, adding a little more excitement to the drop. Returning to the Lower East Side’s Orchard St. where the infamous riotous release first went down over twelve years ago, Extra Butter opened a one-day pop-up shop, one block down from where the original drop occurred. Although we’d heard initial reports that the huge lines of potential customers were moved on by an anxious police force (who were trying to avoid a repeat of what happened back in February 2005), we’ve heard that this launch went a lot more peacefully than some might have expected.

For those of us who can’t make it over to NYC, there’s some good news: the Black Pigeon is getting a much wider release than its predecessor, so there should be plenty of opportunities to get your feet into a pair. We’re excited to see the pigeon making a strong return after all this time: we advise you to grab them when they drop, as this is definitely one of the more interesting releases we’ve seen in recent years.

The NIKE SB DUNK LOW ‘BLACK PIGEON’ releases on SATURDAY 11 NOVEMBER. Click the banner below to check the release page containing all stockist details.