Martine Rose and Nike celebrates women's football and British Subculture

In collaboration with Nike, Martine Rose expands the exploration of women’s football, launching the Nike Shox MR4, the brand's daring interpretation of the Nike Shox R4.

Martine returns to a near-universal common language: football, having looked back to 1971 with her 2021, The Lost Lioness project, for this instalment in her football voyage, Martine coincides with the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament.

This partnership with Nike marks an acknowledgement of how inclusive and accepting football can - and should - be for women from all walks of life. No matter their professional background, religion, ethnicity or age, the incredible women that Martine Rose spotlights are united by their self-definition as footballers. Reflected within the campaign, Martine Rose amplifies diverse, inspirational and multifaceted women from across the football landscape; from legends of the game through to next generation changemakers.

With Nike having recently marked its 50th anniversary, the brand continues its mission to forge a future where sport is played on a level playing field for all athletes, regardless of gender identity. The impact of visionary partners such as Rose is central to these efforts – her powerful design language and inclusive, optimistic ethos opens a new aperture for the presentation of female athletes.

Driven by a desire to find connections between fashion and our ordinary realities and to further explore the future of football and the remarkable women who make the sport what it is, Martine Rose will unveil a special capsule over the next 12 months, starting with her signature take on the iconic Nike Shox franchise. “We like to subvert very familiar things to take them into a completely other space” says Martine Rose.

Created to instil supreme confidence, this interpretation of the Nike Shox R4 (2000) uplifts female footballers, and indeed everyone who wears it. The Shox is a celebrated silhouette within UK sub-culture, appealing to Rose’s aesthetic, and so, the brand has taken a familiar object and re-introduces it in a previously unimaginable form.

Drawing heavily on conventional dress shoe aesthetics, the Nike Shox MR4 is a unisex slip-on mule with a lifted heel. By accentuating the Shox’s iconic pillars height is added to the silhouette whilst an uncompromising squared-off toe references her cult-favourite formal footwear designs from her mainline collections.

Featuring subtle co-branding across the sole, insole, tongue tab and insteps, the Shox MR4 deploys a premium synthetic leather upper that recalls not only a dress shoe but also a classic football boot. By combining such an evocative material palate with a breathable mesh, moulded heel counter and protruding outsole, Martine Rose and Nike have produced a singular footwear creation to follow in the footsteps of 2018’s collaborative Nike Air Monarch.

“We feel the end product is so successful because it’s still recognisable as a Shox, it’s just silghtly different. It’s almost not until you put your feet into the shoe that you realise how significant the height difference is which is nice. We wanted to balance it so that it’s striking but not too extreme.” – Shauni Douglas, Martine Rose Design Director.

As Martine Rose and Nike look ahead not only to UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 but also the World Cup in 2023, the shared vision remains undimmed – to push towards a future where women’s football is as celebrated and cherished as it deserves to be.

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Nike and MartineRose-Maria. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Kat. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Ruth. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Jasma. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Hope. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Jess. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Founé & Khartoum. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Shikofa. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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Nike and MartineRose-Marta. Photo: Pascal Gambarte / Courtesy of Nike
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