This week, there was a rumor going around that Nike was moving forward with the release of a Mars
Yard 3.0 sneaker collaboration with Tom Sachs, the New York artist who went from being a star Swoosh
partner to being persona non grata in March after a Curbed report claimed that his studio was a hostile
work environment where he yelled and threw objects at employees. But in answer to a question
regarding the alleged release of the Mars Yard 3.0, Nike denied any upcoming collaborations with the
artist.
The company informs Complex, “We are not currently working with Tom’s studio and have no release
dates planned.
In March, Complex revealed that Nike was at one stage working on a third Mars Yard shoe. The shoe
was “set to debut” for the 2023 holiday season, according to the sneaker blog Sole Retriever, who also
cautioned that the Mars Yard 3.0 “may get canceled and scrapped altogether.” Nike’s remark suggests
the latter.
Sachs’ collaborations with Nike, which began more than ten years ago with the release of the first Mars
Yard shoe in 2012, have been among the most desired and positively welcomed by critics. Through his
association with previous CEO Mark Parker, an avid art collector and Sachs supporter, he was able to
forge a relationship with Nike.
The General Purpose Shoe, a style that is more commonly offered than the artist’s limited edition Mars
Yard offerings, was just added to Nike’s 2022 sneaker lineup. Sachs was ready to sell a lot more sneakers
because there were still additional colorways for the General Purpose shoe.
