Nike SB goes wild with recycled jerseys for skaters at the Tokyo Olympics

Ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Nike SB is fully embracing its sustainability initiatives with new skate federation kits made from 100 percent recycled polyester. Designed in collaboration with Dutch artist Piet Parra — who supposedly has an SB Dunk on the way — the uniforms utilize colors that connect to the geographies of their respective countries.

Since it’s hard to define what official skating attire should look like, each region’s jersey is inspired by a sport linked to its country. Japan’s uniforms take the shape of baseball jerseys, a tennis polo represents France, Brazil’s attire utilizes soccer jerseys, and basketball jerseys help outline the U.S. uniforms. From there, Parra has portrayed each country’s landscape on the jerseys through geometric shapes.

So minimal, yet so detailed — Alongside their regional-inspired colors, the recycled polyester uniforms feature Parra’s signature palette of turquoise, magenta, and pink. Brazil’s green and yellow make its jersey immediately recognizable, while France’s red and blue shades highlight a silhouette of the Tour Eiffel to make the connection more perceptible. Both the U.S. and Japanese attire feature striped geometric patterns and blue mountains, with each country’s flag marking the jerseys as their own. To ground the images geographically, a sun graphic can be seen above every landscape.

Utilizing as many geographic motifs as possible, each kit also features a bird that contains the spirit of each country. Japan is represented by a crane, French jerseys bear a rooster, a toucan portrays Brazil, and U.S. uniforms proudly sport an eagle.

Connecting the creativity of skating to the inventive designs of the skate kits, Donavan Harris, the Nike Design Lead for the uniform, shared: “We started to see the natural connections between a landscape and the act of skating. You don’t skate in a vacuum. Everything that’s around you plays a role in drawing new lines.” And much like jerseys are an important aspect of other sports, like basketball or soccer, Harris said he could see these minimal yet detailed designs captivating the skating community.

Dropping soon — Baseball caps and tank tops, borrowing the same designs as the jerseys, complete the federation kits in a stylish manner. Although SB skaters will be repping the designs in Tokyo, the kits’ geometric designs make for a great streetwear fit, offering a low-key way to support your country come Olympic game time. Proving Harris right, we’re eager to get our hands on the region-inspired hats, jerseys, and tank tops — but we’ll have to wait till Nike SB decides to release the collection to the public.