Nick DePaula
Tomorrow, December 12th, the newest colorway of the Nike Zoom LeBron VI will be hitting stores nationwide in a Black/Black colorway, just in time for the winter season’s harshest times. (Unless of course you live in Baltimore…where these are good to go year-around.) Unlike the first colorway that released last November in Black/White/Red, this version features a comination of ballistic mesh and premium leather along the upper.
As Ken Link, designer of The Six, reveals, this colorway in particular is inspired by one of LeBron’s favorite superheros. “He loves Batman, so we wanted to tap into that,” begins Link. “We tapped into the Batmobile from the movie, which if you look at the shoe, it’s very simple and elegant, and at the same time, it’s very purposeful in what it’s trying to do with durability and strength where you need it.” The shoe’s premium leather support rand overlay and leather midsole work to provide support and longevity after countless beatings, and as always, can withstand the forces of literally anyone as they’re built to house the frame of King James and his explosive style of play. Cushioning comes via a full-length 6mm Zoom Air unit, with another 6mm Zoom Air bag double-stacked in the heel as an added bonus.
Once again in the Zoom LeBron series, we’re seeing an all black colorway, but this time around, Link and James knew they’d have to takes things a bit farther than where their Black/Black shoes have been in the past. “Originally, we were like, we should do leather,” Link explains. “It was like, ‘Well, that’s what makes this kind of feel different. [The mesh] takes it out of the boot zone and makes it feel more made for Batman. It kind of makes it feel more purposeful.’ And that’s the hard thing with Black/Black shoes, I mean, everyone loves Black/Black shoes, but to really make something nice in black, you’ve gotta really push those edges of depth and texture.”
For a closer look at the Zoom LeBron VI with in-depth inspiration details straight from Ken Link, be sure to check out Sole Collector’s Issue 25, which hits stores nationwide next week!
