Certificate of
Authenticity
Authenticity
0
Try On
View Authenticity Certificate
Dunk High 1985 Black Acid Wash
Dunk High 1985 Black Acid Wash
Culture Note™️
Origin
Designed by Peter Moore and released on 28 September 2021 as part of Nike's Dunk line. This release has a leather upper in Lemon Drop/Black/Saturn. The year in the name puts this shoe in the middle of Nike's most consequential decade. Michael Jordan signed in 1984, the Air Max arrived in 1987, and Just Do It followed in 1988, turning a shoe company into a voice. The Dunk High belonged to that period as a college court shoe, and this 1985 execution is Nike reissuing its own mid eighties self rather than borrowing anyone else's. Black Acid Wash names the treatment: the washed, mottled finish that defined denim in exactly the years this silhouette comes from. It is a period detail applied to a period shoe, which is a tighter idea than most retro colourways manage, and it gives a black high top far more surface interest than plain leather would.
Utility
A washed black high top is a winter and evening shoe. Recipe one: black jeans and a black tee under a grey overshirt, a full dark look where the acid wash mottling is the only texture in play. Recipe two: raw indigo denim cuffed above the collar with a cream knit, which sets the washed black against a clean warm top half. Keep trouser hems short enough to show the collar, or the whole silhouette is wasted. Good for gigs, nights out and cold weather. Dunk Highs run true but feel tight at the collar for a week. Clean with a damp cloth and mild soap, avoid bleach and solvents entirely, and dry in shade to protect the wash.
Influence
The mid eighties are when Nike stopped being a running brand and became a cultural one, driven by basketball and by the Spike Lee directed Mars Blackmon advertising that made Michael Jordan a character as well as an athlete. One correction is worth making because the story gets told wrong constantly: the shoe cited under the NBA's uniform rule was the Nike Air Ship, not the Air Jordan I, and Nike paid the fines. From the 1980s onward Air Jordans, Air Force 1s and Air Max models became staples of mainstream American youth dress, and the Dunk High rode into that world alongside them.
Construction
Acid wash is a finish that produces irregular lighter patches across a dark base, so no two pairs look identical and the shoe is designed to look uneven. Read the mottling as intended rather than as a defect. The Dunk High's taller collar wraps above the ankle and needs a couple of wears to soften, and it changes how the shoe sits with trousers, since the cuff has to clear more shoe. Underneath is the Dunk chassis with the flat wide forefoot and the rubber tread that descends from Bowerman's waffle experiments. Washed finishes are more delicate than plain leather or canvas, so harsh cleaning will strip the effect and leave you with a patchy dark shoe instead.
Most Asked Questions
How We Always
Guarantee the Best Prices?
Luxury Marketplace
In luxury marketplaces, prices depend on demand - less popular items sell below retail.
.svg)
Competition Between Sellers
Our 5,000+ verified sellers compete with each other, giving you the lowest prices.
.svg)
price Comparision
We show you price comparisons across sellers so you always get better deals.
.svg)
Helping Sellers, Helping You
We help sellers buy smarter inventory, so they can offer you better prices.
Most Asked Questions
How We Always
Guarantee the Best Prices?
Luxury Marketplace
In luxury marketplaces, prices depend on demand - less popular items sell below retail.
Competition Between Sellers
Our 5,000+ verified sellers compete with each other, giving you the lowest prices.
price Comparision
We show you price comparisons across sellers so you always get better deals.
Helping Sellers, Helping You
We help sellers buy smarter inventory, so they can offer you better prices.
Loading...