This Saturday, December 30^th, Kith and Nike celebrate the birthday of LeBron James by releasing their collaborative LeBron XV Long Live the King Collection. This collection continues the story told in the recently released mini-documentary of the same name by highlighting LeBron as both a person and a player. To accomplish this, Kith-founder Ronnie Fieg worked with Nike to develop two new variations of the LeBron XV silhouette – one designed for performance and the other for lifestyle.

The Lifestyle XV completely revamps the XV’s upper while maintaining the original midsole tooling. Differing from the regular LeBron XV, this Lifestyle rendition opts for a more refined textured Flyknit upper as opposed to the more pronounced Battleknit. Hexagonal knitting is seen on the forefoot and heightened sock-like collar to provide flexibility. The medial side is adorned with a curved zipper for easy accessibility. The most dynamic design element of this new XV is the strap system. Branded straps replace a lacing system and come in both full and half-length options. The full-length strap begins at a Velcro closure on the toe and revolves around the entirety of the shoe by fastening to the center air bubble on the outsole and then climbing up the midfoot and around the collar. The half-strap begins the same way but stops before rising to the collar. Each Lifestyle XV is accompanied by two full straps and one half strap. This sneaker can also be devoid of straps, thus creating three different ways to be worn. The Lifestyle XV is offered in two colorways, "Stained Glass" and "Concrete". The Stained Glass model is a multicolor knit comprised of shades of burgundy, navy, sail, and olive. The Concrete model features a blend of black, grey, sail, and white. The Lifestyle XV will retail for $230 USD.  

The Performance XV features a luxury approach to the on-court sneaker. All core performance characteristics are maintained to fit the needs of LeBron James (who wore this pair on Christmas Day), while additional details elevate the sneaker beyond the lines. This model receives a Rose Gold colorway, as the Battle-Knit upper is draped in a faint rose tone. The key addition is a rose gold Riri zipper that runs up the center of the upper from the toe to the collar. This zipper conceals a leather panel that displays asymmetric branding, with Long Live the King on the right shoe and Kith x Nike LeBron XV on the left. The zipper’s execution features openings on the sides which allows a myriad of lacing options, as the laces can be woven over, underneath, and to the sides, depending on the wearer’s preference. Other details include a full sail midsole with matted air bags and metallic rose gold Swoosh logos on the heels. The Kith x Nike LeBron Performance XV “Rose Gold” will retail for $200 USD.

The Kith x Nike LeBron XV Long Live the King Collection releases this Saturday, December 30^th, at Kith shops and Kith.com. The online release will be at midnight on Friday. No other doors will carry this collection as it will remain exclusive to Kith’s shops.