Comme des Garçons Brings Back The Nike Air Max Dolce As A Sneaker Loafer/Mule

A WTF sneaker from '02 is back for 2026.

John Kim 4 hours

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Comme des Garçons HOMME Plus is patient zero when it comes to bringing old and obscure Nike models back into the market. For SS26, they’ve uncovered the Air Max Dolce, a 2002 model that arrived smack-dab in the middle of what may be Nike’s most experimental period of its shoe design history.

Long before the current sneaker loafer craze, Nike clearly dabbled with the dress shoe/sneaker hybrid concept during its most envelope-pushing era in design history. The early 2000s was an era when Nike was bringing to market footwear products that honestly had limited commercial appeal, but lately they’ve focused a ton of energy into tapping into these archives to bring the next “it” model back from the grave. The Air Max Dolce, as the name suggests, is like an Italian dress shoe meets Air Max.

: Comme des Garçons HOMME Plus x Nike Air Max Dolce lookatsangi

: Comme des Garçons HOMME Plus x Nike Air Max Dolce lookatsangi

: Comme des Garçons HOMME Plus x Nike Air Max Dolce lookatsangi

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At Paris Fashion Week, Comme des Garçons HOMME Plus presented the first-ever retro release of the Air Max Dolce in its predictable presentations of all-white, all-black, and a blend of both. Images of the Air Max Dolce by the Japanese fashion imprint reveal the matted Air units at the heel without the OG seam. A newly inserted patent leather shroud replaced the tech-style webbing, while the rest of the upper design, marked by chiseled ridges in a foam molded upper, appears fairly consistent with original (pictured below).

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) culturepdx

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) culturepdx

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) culturepdx

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) culturepdx

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) culturepdx

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Below is the Air Max Dolce Light, which is essentially the same shoe, but with a classic tongue and shoelace set-up.

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) trdoug_56

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) trdoug_56

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) trdoug_56

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) trdoug_56

: Nike Air Max Dolce (2002 Original) trdoug_56

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More images of this collaboration are surfacing soon, so stay tuned for updates as we gear up for its SS26 arrival.

Written by

John Kim, Editor-in-Chief

John Kim is the current Editor-in-Chief of Sneaker News, taking over the role in 2014 after joining the company in 2009. Born and raised in Queens, NY, John has published interviews with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Anthony Edwards, Pusha T, Pharrell, and more. He is considered among the most trusted voices in the industry and is a fixture at important brand events across the globe.