Dive Brief:
- Reebok and Beams are collaborating on an updated version of Reebok’s Instapump Fury sneaker, per an press release sent to Fashion Dive
- The new design is Y2K-inspired and is built around a laceless, carbon-plated, split-sole running shoe. It includes Reebok’s custom fit pump technology and will retail for $230.
- Beams will launch the Instapump Fury on Friday, per the release, and Reebok will offer the sneaker beginning Nov. 6 through its e-commerce platform and via select retailers, per the release.
Dive Insight:
Authentic Brands Group-owned Reebok first introduced its pump technology in 1989, and the Instapump Fury sneaker debuted in 1994. The new Fury shoe features a white mesh upper and a chrome leather pump bladder featuring Beams text on the pump ball and a Beams logo on the toe. It’s packaged in a custom sneaker box, per the company.
“We wanted to create a shoe that captures the over-the-top, futuristic style of the early 2000s while staying true to the edgy, trendsetting spirit that has defined both Beams and Reebok since the beginning,” Shingo Arai, head of buying for Beams, said in a statement. “Instapump Fury was the perfect canvas.”
The two brands have worked together on various collaborations for about 10 years, per the release, including a 2021 partnership with Paperboy Paris on a Club C Legacy sneaker. Reebok has also worked with other brands in the streetwear space on Instapump Fury collaborations, a company spokesperson said in an email. Previous brand partners for the shoe include Chromat, Billionaire Boys Club and Eames Office.
Reebok was acquired by Authentic in 2022, and released a Y2K-inspired capsule with Authentic-owned Juicy Couture earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Beams has collaborated with multiple brands since its founding in 1978, including Adidas, Nike, Levi's and Sperry, the latter of which is also owned by Authentic.
Brian Ehrig, partner at consulting firm Kearney said that collaboration has been driving the sneaker market for decades.
“Think about Vans, think about Nike Dunks, Air Force One, Air Jordan, or the Adidas Stan Smith,” Ehrig said in an email. “These are heavy volume drivers. It is also not that nuanced to make a premium version of a once retired shoe, as Nike has been doing for most of the last 10 years. What is new about it is that no one has seen innovation from Reebok in a very long time.”
Ehrig added that could be an opportunity to bring the brand back to the forefront after it had been “cast into the shadows” and relegated to niche categories such as CrossFit.
Matt Powell, an advisor at Spurwink River, said the collaboration was likely focused on raising brand awareness.
“These kinds of collaborations are rarely commercial,” Powell said in an email. “The quantities made are generally quite small, intended to sell out quickly. The brand hopes to get mentions in the press and in the sneakerhead echo chamber.”
