It’s no surprise but one of Tinker Hatfield’s designs has made its way through plenty of popular models in the Nike catalog. It took 20 years for the Air Max 95 to get the “safari” look, but back in 2006 the Nike SB Zoom Tre got the treatment.
For those that don’t know what the Zoom Tre was (is?), it’s a model made for the purpose of, surprise, skating. Following the lead from models like the URL and the E-Cue, the Zoom Tre was created with longevity in mind. That’s how Nike came up with the unique, ventilated, 3D injected synthetic upper that was made to be hit by grip tape multiple times and not tear or fray. That allowed the sneaker to be worn for a long time before having to be replaced while still giving the rider feel around the toes along with breathability. For cushioning duties the proven combination of a full length Phylon midsole and Zoom Air was used with a rubber outsole.
A year after its initial release, the model got the Safari treatment. When Tinker created the Air Safari it was a runner that was functional but also had a touch of class added to it. The inspiration for the model was an ostrich leather couch. That look was transferred to the Zoom Tre with lots of cues from the original from the tan and black body to Safari print and orange accenting. Adding small hits of blue on the Swoosh and tongue logo brought the look to completion. Will Nike SB ever retro the Zoom Tre? Who knows, but if they do this is one colorway we would want to see return.
Aaron Nojima
Mike Guillory