Los Angeles Icon Mister Cartoon Designs His Own Cleat Nike Cortez Shoe Release

One of the most influential Los Angelenos ever and long-time Cleat Nike Sportswear creative partner Mister Cartoon has a Cortez collaboration coming this Friday. While this is hardly new ground for Mister Cartoon, who has designed some of the most sought-after sneakers in history in his Air Force 1 design of 2005, the legendary tattoo and graffiti artist gets his first crack at the this staple of LA footwear fashion. Three distinct iterations of the Cortez inspired by his signature graphics, his favorite car, and the original Cortez favorites are part of this premium collection. The Cortez recently experienced an energy injection thanks to a large scale comeback led by some noteworthy ad campaigns with fashion influencer Bella Hadid, but this collaborative release with Mister Cartoon is one that we’ve all been looking forward to.

The Mister Cartoon x Cleat Nike Cortez releases this Friday, July 14th on nike.com and select Los Angeles retailers. See below for full design breakdowns of each colorway.

The white silhouette replaced the Swoosh with a custom Cortez graphic on the side. On the back of the shoes Cartoon has implemented the “smile now, cry later masks.” The front of the shoe features a metal emblem on the bottom lace identifying the artist behind the collaboration, and a custom woven label on the tongue depicts the 45-year anniversary of the Cortez. The base of the Cortez will feature a top layer of white, middle black, and the bottom is a classic rubber gum.

The black silhouette embodies the elements from the first two original Cortez shoes, reimagining the concept and combining both original designs into one new creation. It features a black silhouette with a large and redesigned “LA” graphic on the side, incorporating the Swoosh as part of this element. On the back of the shoes Cartoon has written the words Los Angeles in his signature script lettering. The front of the shoe features a metal emblem on the bottom lace identifying the artist behind the collaboration, and a custom woven label on the tongue depicts the 45-year anniversary of the Cortez. The base of the Cortez will feature a top layer of white, middle black, and the bottom is a classic rubber gum.

The navy blue silhouette features the iconic Cleat Nike Swoosh on the side over an adjusted quilt stitch pattern inspired by the stitching in the Chevy Impala in the background. On the back of the shoes Cartoon has designed a classic LA logo in his signature script lettering. The front of the shoe features a metal emblem on the bottom lace identifying the artist behind the collaboration, and a custom woven label on the tongue depicts the 45-year anniversary of the Cortez. The base of the Cortez will feature a top layer of white, middle black, and the bottom is a classic rubber gum.