Li-Ning Join Forces with Erik Ellington to Release New Skate Collection

Erik Ellington has partnered with Li-Ning, one of China’s largest sportswear brands, to launch their first-ever skateboarding line. Li-Ning has conventionally always been a Chinese athletics brand, but with the help of Ellington and his background in skate shoe design, the innovative brand hopes to leave their mark on the skateboarding world.

The first release from Li-Ning’s skate collection will be a shoe, known as the Ellington Signature model, which is then anticipated to be followed by an apparel line. The shoe is heavily influenced by the shoes Ellington himself wore as he was growing up, which were primarily running shoes and retro basketball shoes – the result? One incredibly unique and innovative skate shoe.

Whilst the shoe may look futuristic, the Ellington signature model is predominantly a high-performance skate shoe that is embedded with features such as Li-Ning’s “Boom” midsole, which uses physical foaming technology to reduce compression deformation of the sole and provide greater energy.  Ellington also expresses that  “With this design, we explored new material combinations that have never made their way onto a skate shoe before, like the ripstop toe-cage and sealed double tongue flap” - meaning this shoe really is the first of it's kind.

The Ellington signature model will be available in three different colorways: Astro Pop, Polar Night and Tropicana. You can take a look at all three in the brands latest campaign below on the streets of NYC.