SoleGRIND
| 👟 Sneaker Release Info | |
|---|---|
| Brand | Nike |
| Model | Nike LDV Waffle |
| Colorway | White/Grey |
| Style Code | BV0072-100 |
| Release Date | May 16, 2019 |
| Retail Price | $180 |
| Available At | SNKRS App |
When sacai’s Chitose Abe teamed up with Nike, nobody quite knew what to expect. sacai is a Japanese fashion house known for deconstructing and reassembling garments in ways that shouldn’t work but somehow do. Bringing that philosophy to sneakers was either going to be brilliant or a disaster. Luckily for everyone, it was brilliant.
The collaboration produced two shoes. The LDWaffle, which mashes together the Nike LDV and the Waffle Racer. And the Blazer Mid, which takes Nike’s classic 1973 basketball shoe and turns it inside out. Both were debuted on sacai’s Spring/Summer 2019 runway in Paris, and the sneaker world went absolutely crazy for them.
Here’s what makes these shoes so wild. Everything is doubled. Two Swooshes overlapping on the side panel. Two tongues stacked on top of each other. Two sets of laces. The LDWaffle even has an elongated, stacked midsole that looks like someone took two shoes and squished them together. Abe described the concept as exploring “stability and betrayal.” The stability comes from the familiar Nike silhouettes and retro color combinations. The betrayal comes from all those doubled elements that mess with your expectations of what a shoe should look like.
The LDWaffle originally retailed for $180. Style codes BV0073-100 for the Summit White colorway and BV0073-400 for the Varsity Blue. The Blazer Mid came in at $140, style code BV0072-100 for the White/Grey version. These dropped through Nike SNKRS, select retailers like Mr Porter, Concepts, and END Clothing, and they sold out instantly.
The LDWaffle is the more experimental of the two. By combining the LDV and Waffle Racer, Abe created a completely new silhouette. The mesh upper with suede overlays gives it a vintage running shoe feel. The doubled Swooshes in contrasting colors create this layered effect that you can’t stop staring at. And that stacked midsole with the waffle outsole is chunky in the best way possible. It’s a shoe that looks like nothing else on the market.
The colorways are what really sell it though. The Varsity Blue pairs royal blue mesh with red suede overlays and orange Swooshes. The Pine Green comes with green mesh, pink suede, and orange Swooshes. The Summit White is more understated with white and grey tones. And the Black version goes full stealth with an all-black upper and contrasting grey Swooshes. Each one hits differently.
The Blazer Mid is equally interesting but in a different way. The Blazer is already a clean, simple silhouette. Adding the doubled elements to it creates tension between the original design’s minimalism and sacai’s maximalist approach. The double tongue sticks up higher than normal. The double Swoosh adds visual weight to the side panel. The exaggerated midsole changes the entire profile of the shoe.
The release was complicated. After the initial runway debut in 2018, the shoes were delayed multiple times. The LDWaffle first dropped in Europe on May 16, 2019. Then the full pack, including the Blazer Mid globally and the LDWaffle in the US, released on May 30. The delays only made the hype worse. By the time these actually hit retailers, people were ready to fight for them.
What I find most impressive about this collaboration is that it didn’t just slap a designer logo on an existing shoe. Abe actually reimagined the construction of these silhouettes. The doubled elements aren’t just visual decoration. They’re structural changes that affect how the shoe looks from every angle. That takes real design vision, not just marketing.
The sacai x Nike collaboration ended up being one of the most influential sneaker releases of 2019. It opened the door for more experimental designer collaborations with Nike and proved that there was an appetite for genuinely avant-garde sneaker design, not just retro colorways and celebrity endorsements. The resale market for these is still strong, which tells you everything you need to know about their lasting impact.
