The 2023 custom sneakers scene has been all about 90s nostalgia lately, with everything from cartoons to TV shows and sitcoms enjoying the limelight. @dope_don_designs is definitely one of the custom sneaker artists that has been creating sneakers that celebrate the 90s nostalgia that we are all craving at the moment, and one of their latest creations is a pair for Family Matters, celebrating one of the sitcom’s favourite characters, Steve Urkel, with the “What the ‘Urkel’ x Nike Dunk” custom sneakers.
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Family Matter was an American TV sitcom that aired from 1989 to 1997, officially making it a 90s show that has been missed since its final episode aired and a source of 90s nostalgia for many. The show initially started out following the Winslow family, an African-American middle-class family. Still, the show shifted once Steve Urkel, the nerdy neighbour, was introduced.
Scripted initially to be a character that only appeared once, Steve Urkel quickly became a fan favourite. He quickly became the show’s breakout character, joining the cast full-time and eventually being considered the show’s main character. It’s no wonder he decided to focus on Jaleel White’s character when @dope_don_designs went to design a pair of sneakers for the show.
The sneakers are slightly different from the left to the right, but a few details are shared between them. Some shared details are the essential construction components like the outsole, the midsole, the lace unit, the tongue, and the inner lining.
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The outsole of both shoes is a dark blue, evoking a denim-type feeling and matching the denim jeans that Steve Urkel can often wear, an element brought through on many of the sneakers.
The midsole of both shoes is yellow, matching the yellow suspenders that Urkel can often be seen wearing. The laces on both shoes are white, matching the colour of both tongues. The inner lining of both shoes is then black to contrast the white. The tongue trim and the Nike tongue label are blue to match the outsole and the denim feel.
The mudguards on the sneakers are blue, with the left being dark denim and the right being lighter denim, mirrored on the Nike Swoosh logos of each sneaker, with the left being light and the right being the opposite.
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The toe box of each sneaker is a checkered pattern that you would associate with the outfits of most nerds, with the left being bluer while the right is more red. The same (but opposite) is valid for the mid-foot-section of the sneakers, being an argyle print like a sweater vest, with the left red while the right is blue.
The panelling of the lace unit and the section that wraps around the heel are also mirrored, with dark to left on each shoe, and the last piece of the sneakers that is unique is the panelling around the ankle, which has stripes that of different colours, again matching the nerdy outfits that you can usually see Urkel wearing.
All in all, @dope_don_designs has done it again, creating a pair of sneakers that perfectly wraps up its inspiration in the silhouette of the Nike Dunk Low sneaker. We can’t wait to see what this amazing artist will do next.
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