Route One’s Top 10 Nike SB Dunks of 2025

Nike SB’s Orange Label is exclusive to skate shops, a way of thanking all the skate shops who inspire generation after generation of skateboarders. Our favourite pick of the ISO launches from 2025, and the first entry on our list, a Saturn Gold effort from all the way back in April. The Saturn Gold Dunk is a bold, yet soothing hue of deep yellow, sat above a crisp white midsole and complementary gum outsole, achieving a vibrant, yet versatile look. As with all Orange Labels, Nike SB used the best materials on the Saturn Gold Dunk to ensure skateboarders get the performance they need.

Nike SB got scholarly back in May with the Quickstrike collab with the College Skateboarding Educational Foundation. CSEF was founded in 2017 by Thomas Barker, focused on providing alternative routes into skateboarding by offering scholarships to skaters who are pursuing higher education. The homages to academia run plentiful throughout the shoe, and the commencement starts with a white leather upper inspired by the whiteboards found in classrooms across the world, with a debossed skateboarder illustration, Scantron answer sheet tongue tab on the slimmer tongue, and a ceremonial CSEF tassel all adding to the studious vibe. To graduate the shoe with first-class honours, a skate-away “eraser” pink hides under the whiteboard overlays.

Possibly the most hyped of all the launches this year due to the icon involved, the Nardwuar Dunk lands in 8th on our list. Known for his rigorous research which often stuns his subjects into silence and his bold tartan-centric outfits, Nardwuar’s Dunk Low Pro takes lead from the latter, draping the upper of the shoe in the tartan pattern from his iconic Tam o' Shanter, onto Nike SB’s most iconic silhouette. We were lucky enough to sit down with the man himself (in a black cab, no less) on his promotional tour for the shoe, so go check out our interview with him to get the full story of the shoe.

Founded in 2021, Max Palmer, Cyrus Bennett and co. blitzed Limo onto the scene with the monumental Paymaster video. Four years later, the stacked crew continues to dazzle with their brand of raw, unorthodox skating, and in September came together with Nike SB for a gridiron-inspired Dunk. No safety plays here, the Nike SB Dunk Low Pro x Limosine drew directly from the iconic pigskin, a nod to summer skate sessions with a ball always close by. What we like about this one is how sick it looked being skated, with the wear of the leather adding an authenticity to the dunk. We wrote in depth about the Limo Dunk at the time of launch. Go read our blog here.

Real Skateboard pro and Aussie ripper Hayley Wilson has already been around for what feels like an age, despite only being 24 years old. She topped off a monumental couple of years in May (a period which included turning pro for Real) with a collaboration with Nike SB. This one was steeped in Hayley’s signature style, reflecting the blend of fluidity and board control of a competition skater with a rawness and creativity homed in the streets.

The shoe is drenched in a blend of bold and subtle detailing which reflect this dichotomy, combining SB’s skate-ready performance with a trad - heavy theme, which begins with barbed wire fencing lining the heel, joined by Old English branding embroidered on the turquoise tongue and heel tabs. The UV-light-reactive thread delivered bursts of purple to the Swoosh outline and gothic embroidery, switching up the Dunk in front of your very eyes. The Nike SB Dunk Low Pro x Hayley Wilson celebrated the rawness of street skating and Hayley’s personal style.

Coming in at 5, the first, and without a doubt the most sophisticated release from Nike SB in 2025, the 'Riot' Dunk. This release celebrated 20 years of Riot Skate Shop, which continues to age like a fine wine, and 2025 proved to be another vintage year for the Bordelaise establishment. Paying homage to the vast vineyards of the acclaimed winemaking region, this collaboration decanted the rich heritage of Bordeaux’s wine culture into skateboarding’s most desirable silhouette. Go read all about the launch here.

At the very start of 2025, almost exactly a year ago at the time of writing, Nike SB threw it back to ’99 with the rerelease of the Pro B. Also known as the “Chunky Dunk”, due to its fatter tongue and more padding, it attracted skaters due to its combination of style and functionality, which ultimately paved the way for the SB line of Dunks in the early noughties. There was no way this was escaping our list. Fast-forward to 2025, the chunky Dunk got a “Parachute Beige” colourway, as Nike SB elevated the silhouette of days gone with a rugged hit that gives it a strong workwearesque aesthetic. Read all about the release of the shoe in full here.

For the second skate shop collab on this list, and sitting at the bottom step of the podium, Nike SB headed to San Diego to enlist the collaborative help of Kellen James’ Arts-Rec. Arts-Rec is a cultural cornerstone in the City in Motion, blending street-level authenticity with San Diego’s creative heartbeat. This latest link-up is no exception. It’s a celebration of skateboarding’s duality, where chaos meets curation. Taking inspiration from Balboa Park’s 99-acre zoo, the Nike SB Dunk Low Pro x Arts-Rec is dressed in safari vibes, with soft hues and feral details that reflect both the urban wildlife and community spirit of America’s Finest City. It lands alongside an SB Air Trainer 1, which follows the same safari themes, combining rough suede, leopard print patterns and black fur.

We might be fighting for our lives amid the January blues, and the warmth of Christmas feels like a distant memory, but for the number 2 spot on this list, we’re throwing it back to the second dunk for Saint Nick’s devilish counterpart, Krampus. Nike SB celebrated the naughty side of the Yuletide period, delivering a fiery coal effort to commemorate Krampusnacht, the Night of Krampus. Nike SB made sure they enshrined the half-goat, half-demon child-snatcher in sneaker folklore with a searing Dunk to honour this pagan anti-hero. All wrapped in black and crimson embers, the charred black leather upper cracks under the heat below, hinting at something hellish burning underneath. An unholy Dunk unlucky to miss out on top spot.

So, the time has come to announce our favourite Dunk released last year, and, after much deliberation, we’re happy to say that the Nike SB 'Yuto' Dunk Low Pro QS Skate Shoes land the top spot. It’s not often a skater comes along and defies what is possible on a board, especially looking so non-chalant whilst doing so, but that is exactly what Yuto Horigome brings to the party. From learning his craft at Tokyo’s Ōjima Komatsugawa Park to Olympic Gold Medal (Medals, to be exact), Yuto’s meteoric rise in skateboarding speaks volumes about not only his talent and effortless flow, but his humility and determination, too. ⁠
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The Nike SB Dunk Low x Yuto “Matcha” paid homage to Yuto’s Japanese heritage and love of Matcha. Much like skateboarding, the art of matcha making requires patience and skill. Yuto’s second dunk colourway was a tribute to this connection with a Light Khaki suede upper, accompanied by Asparagus and Legion green leather panels, combining for an earthy, premium vibe. Following the trend of his debut Dunk, the shoe is drenched in symbolism, exemplified by Yuto’s family crest embossed on the lateral heel.⁠

It might have passed by with less hype than some other Dunk launches, but the soothing aesthetics and rich story behind the Yuto “Matcha” Dunk makes it the well-deserved favourite in the Route One office.

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