Nike’s 2019 ‘BETRUE’ Collection Highlights Original Eight-Color Pride Flag

Nike kicks off June’s Pride Month with the release of the 2019 'BETRUE' Collection to honor the annual celebration of inclusivity and sexuality. 

This year the sportswear brand has partnered up with the Gilbert Baker Estate to create a medley of rainbow-hued footwear, apparel, and accessories in homage to LGBTQIA+ rights activist and designer Gilbert Baker. 

Back in 1978, Baker designed the iconic rainbow flag to originally featuring eight-color stripes of pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and violet. Due to textile restraints, the flag was modified to the six-color version that is universally recognized today as the ultimate symbol of unity amongst the LGBTQIA+ community. 

For the first time ever, the original eight-color Pride Flag is featured throughout the 2019 'BETRUE' collection as part of a reworked logo along with other personalized details. Sneakers each feature a pink sock liner with Baker’s signature on the left, paired with the meaning of the flag’s eight colors on the right. Sparkles shimmer on the Nike Spark Lightweight Crew Socks and Nike Zoom Vaporfly Next, while handcrafted embroidery details are realized through an eight-layer Swoosh on the classic Nike Air Max 90 and various rainbow motifs. Nike’s Air Tailwind 79 is also newly added to the collection, a silhouette that sold the same year of Baker’s flag debut, with a pink and blue deconstructed mesh upper design. 

Everything in the collection is unisex, with t-shirt graphics featuring the flag and Nike logos from the ‘70s and ‘80s plus a Nike Heritage Shoulder Bag that comes in a glittery sheen and multicolored strap. 

Nike’s 2019 'BETRUE' collection was released globally on June 1 at select retailers and will be available to those in North America on June 8 online, the SNKRS app and at select Nike stockists.  

Next up, Converse Have Just Released Their Annual Pride Collection