Nike Air Presto x Hello Kitty: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

What happens when you take a pop culture icon and combine it with one of Nike’s most classic silhouettes of the 2000s? You get the Air Presto x Hello Kitty collab set to release on Friday.

Hello Kitty is best known for her ubiquity in all facets of pop culture, from merchandise to toys to games to books to anime. The character has appeared on a variety of products since 1975 and has remained popular since its 1975 launch.

Of course, this isn’t Hello Kitty’s first collaboration with the Presto, as there was a limited edition collab back in 2004 which has become something of a holy grail for fans of both the character and the sneaker.

Of course, the Presto is no stranger to characters. Upon the sneaker’s initial release in 2000, the marketing campaign included 13 different characters representing the colorways in the initial run.

The shoe was designed by Tobie Hatfield, the brother of legendary Nike designer Tinker Hatfield. The shoe, which could be considered a successor to Tinker’s Air Huarache and a predecessor to Tobie’s Nike Free, was originally going to be called the Air Comfy, and boy does it live up to that moniker. The model was initially pitched as a T-shirt for your feet, coming in T-shirt sizes (S, M, L, XL) rather than traditional numerical sizes. This was possible thanks in part to the stretchy sock-like material which also makes it an extremely light and comfortable sneaker to wear in all situations.

The shoe became an instant classic and its legend was cemented in part thanks to its relative elusiveness, as it was vaulted for a long time with nary a release. However, in recent years the shoe has seen a resurgence, including as one of the most popular pairs in Virgil Abloh’s “The Ten” collection and in collaboration with Acronym among others.

The release will also include a capsule of Nike x Hello Kitty items, from T-shirts to pants to hoodies, the perfect items for any Hello Kitty fan to pair with their new kicks.

The collaboration did release last month on Sanrio’s website, so perhaps this release may be slightly easier to acquire than other SNKRS drops. Then again, who knows, Hello Kitty does have quite a fan base. Best of luck to all those going for a pair!

To see more of this month’s releases, check out our release date calendar.