Top Boy tells an authentic story of real, gritty London life – it doesn’t hold back, and with Drake (everybody’s favourite anglophile) as its Executive Producer, the stories have only become more involved in the realities young Black people face. It’s what makes Top Boy one of the best series to hit the telly; a series that brings Dave, Little Simz, Bashy, Giggs, Sway and Adwoa Aboah into the mix alongside drill and grime music, realistic representations of growing up in a Hackney council estate, and finding the intersection between music, sports, life, fashion and more.
It’s this that Lorenz.og has now referenced for his latest custom work, which sees the Top Boy team and its close Friends & Family now owning a pair of incredibly-rare Lorenz.og-designed Nike Air Max 95s. A fitting silhouette, given the shoe’s heritage in British culture.
The Air Max 95 brings lots of cultural relevance in the UK. Colloquially known as 110s thanks to the pair’s consistent £110 GBP price point, the 95s were the UK’s first real “it” sneaker. It had British youth culture in a chokehold, and still does to this day, as it was one of the first sneakers to break the hundred quid bracket, in turn making it a cult status symbol.
All your favourite rappers were repping a pair. Kids would do anything to own the 95. Some even see the 95 as the originator of reselling, way before the 2000s’ hype around Nike SB Dunks.
The shoe was in a lane of its own. Black sole units filled with comfortable bubbles made it equipped for easy styling and practicality. And it also came with controversy – as The Guardian notes, “Police forensic scientists have revealed that the shoe [Reebok Classic] is number two on its league table of footprints left at crime scenes, beaten only by the enduringly desirable Nike Air Max 95.”
Its legacy as a cultural icon – for better or worse – is why the Air Max 95 has been reworked by Lorenz.og for the Top Boy team.
Titled the “Summerhouse OG” after the fictional estate Top Boy is set within, the Nikes feature one of the artist’s signature “PATTERNED COLORSCHEMES” finishes that sees the shoe decked in washed-out gradient hues. From here, matching tinted Air bubbles and Swoosh emblems can be found around the shoe, while airmax logos are kept monochromatic, matching the black sole unit and leather components.
Furthermore, the shoes come in a custom box that’s opened using an allen key. It’s more of a display piece, featuring a clear perspex cover that sits atop a Top Boy-themed map of London.
Just 30 pairs exist and all are in the hands of Top Boy’s talent and friends, courtesy of Netflix. Take a look at the pair above, because that’s about as close as you’ll ever get to seeing them.
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