Drake and Nike are set to extend their collaborative efforts with an exciting new sub-label NOCTA. Announcing the partnership a month after the launch of the artists sold-out ‘Certified Lover Boy’ collection. The partnership and sub-label plants the seed for Nike’s artist backed battle with adidas’ YEEZY, something that we believed was only months away.
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It’s no secret Drake prefers “checks over stripes”, and the Toronto native has his sights set on YEEZY with the NOCTA collaborative line. Of course, the 6 God himself will never mention the brand’s collaborative intentions, but you can’t help but think this is a move on Kanye West’s territory.
The pair’s conflictive history is well documented, and the launch of the NOCTA sub-label looks to bring the threats off the internet and into the design studio.
Since Kanye partnered with adidas in 2013, YEEZY has remained one of the most successful clothing brands in fashion. Kanye helped launch adidas back into the sneaker stratosphere and although it never truly challenged Nike, it was enough to get under their skin.
In 2018, it was reported that Drake was close to inking a deal with adidas but the feud with rapper Pusha T (who is adidas signed) quickly stopped that. Initially, we thought the prime candidate for a challenge to the adidas YEEZY brand would have been Travis Scott. The ‘Mamacita’ rapper is showcased as one of the coolest people on the planet, but his relations with the Kardashians meant he was never going to be the one.
Very few images of the NOCTA collection have been revealed, however, the initial offerings appear to consist of monochrome puffer jackets and sweatsuits. Alongside the monochrome offerings is a yellow puffer jacket that is sure to be the most sought after product of the collection.
The NOCTA name, which is spelled out along the chest of the jacket, references the superstar’s nocturnal creative process. The logo also giving nod to the OVO owl that dons some of the artists rarest clothing and sneakers when he partnered with Jordan Brand. The collection is set to go on sale via Nike online on December 18.
Drake shared his thoughts on the entire branding process in an essay penned by Drizzy himself, read below.
“This moment is full circle for me.
I mean, growing up Nike was everything. It felt like every shoe I wanted, every athlete I liked, everything I owned was Nike. It didn’t mean anything unless it had a Swoosh.
I remember watching all these athletes repping Nike — each doing the unthinkable — and how inspiring it was. I always felt like there was an opportunity for Nike to embrace an entertainer the same way they had athletes. I thought about how crazy it would have been and what it would have meant for an artist to have a flagship Nike deal.
NOCTA is a realization of all these thoughts and everything I had hoped for — from the culture it’s rooted in to the product and, most important, to the partnership and scale that allows me to share it with the world.
NOCTA is about creating something for people on the move. People who want functional, comfortable fits that are adaptable from one environment to the next.
But as much as it’s about what we make, it’s also about a mindset: an unforgiving drive, a relentlessness. Characterized by the type
who are on the road all day, all night — the grinders, the hard workers — trying to accomplish their goals and taking no short cuts.
That mindset also includes loyalty and team. Whether you are in Toronto, London or Paris, there’s this uniform look — Nike Tech Fleece, the gloves, the hat — and it has a real team feel. I wanted to take a piece of that culture that I grew up with, that school of thought, and bring the best to it. With NOCTA, we were trying to make the hardest jacket, the hardest tracksuit, the hardest gloves. Just the best of that world.
This opportunity is something that I’ve been waiting on for a really long time. To be associated with the highest level possible — that was always my goal. We put in a lot of hard work, a lot of man and woman hours, during the last two years. To see it all coming to fruition starts an exciting new chapter in my life”.
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