John Kim 
The Nike Air Force 1 went through a bit of a revival in 2012, with a year-long onslaught of intense sneaker releases as part of the AF1-XXX Collection and culminating in the debut of the Nike Lunar Force 1. Will the Nike Dunk receive some sort of treatment as well? While 2013 may not mark a particularly important milestone, we do know that the Dunk High silhouette – one of the first sneakers that featured wild and unconventional color-blocking – is going through a bit of a restructuring with the Nike Dunk Free. However, we’d like to point out that this shoe is more that just a plain ‘ol Dunk High with a Free-grooved outsole, but rather an amalgam of some of the most rebellious sneakers in Nike history.
There are a multitude of design aspects to the Nike Dunk Free that should make it one of the more interesting releases of 2013. Starting off, the shoe features a neoprene inner bootie that we first saw with the Nike Air Huarache, and it seems the circular Nike logo on the tongue is also a nod to the classic Huarache label. The molded heel panel is an obvious tribute to the Nike Air Foamposite One, with the deep groves being taken right from the iconic shoe. Finally the Nike Dunk Free utilizes Hyperfuse mesh on the upper, giving the sneaker the breathability it needs to be a high-performer on the court. We have an exclusive look at the Nike Dunk Free in four colorways below – all of which will begin to release in June 2013 at Foot Locker and other retailers, so flip through the gallery and give us your opinion on this “revamped” Nike Dunk.
