Nike Unveils Trippy Oregon Ducks and Grateful Dead Collaboration

Nike has united the Oregon Ducks and the Grateful Dead with 'The Grateful Ducks Collection.'

The Nike Air Max 90 x Class Trip x Grateful Dead sneakers. | Nike

On Sunday afternoon, worlds collided when the Oregon Ducks football team unveiled their Grateful Dead-themed uniforms for this Saturday's game against the Wisconsin Badgers. This morning, Nike officially announced 'The Grateful Ducks Collection.'

Nike partnered with Class Trip and the University of Oregon on a vibrant fusion of sport, music, and counterculture. The trippy collaboration pays tribute to the enduring bond between the iconic Bay Area band and its home away from home.

The epic partnership honors nearly six decades of connection between the Grateful Dead, whose genre-defying sound and psychedelia redefined American music, and Eugene, the birthplace of Nike and home to the University of Oregon.

Shopping Information

The Nike Air Max 90 x Class Trip x Grateful Dead. | Nike

The Nike x Class Trip x Grateful Dead x University of Oregon Grateful Ducks collection will be available October 21 at dead.net, October 23 at classtrip.co, and October 24 throughout the U.S. via nike.com, SNKRS, Fanatics and select retail partners.

The Grateful Ducks collection features a full range of apparel and footwear that unites the partners’ unique visual languages and bridges generations. It celebrates the past while shaping the future of sport and style.

In addition to the exclusive Air Max 90, the Nike x Class Trip Grateful Ducks collection includes jackets, sweatpants, hoodies, T-shirts and headwear that blend the University of Oregon's countercultural roots with the Grateful Dead's timeless aesthetic.

Details

The Nike Air Max 90 x Class Trip x Grateful Dead. | Nike

The centerpiece of the collaboration is the Nike Air Max 90 x Class Trip x Grateful Dead. The limited-edition sneakers celebrate the band's historic 1990 shows at Autzen Stadium in a limited-edition expression of an Air Max style worn by Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry Garcia.

Oregon's lush landscapes inspired the shoe's layered green and yellow hues, while the tie-dye accents provide a distinctive nod to the Grateful Dead. Additionally, Dead-inspired details include lightning-bolt Swooshes, co-branded tongue tags, and custom sock liners.

The apparel collection includes varsity and bomber jackets, sweatpants, hoodies, T-shirts, and classic headwear. Fans of the Ducks and the Grateful Dead can expect this highly anticipated collection to sell out quickly.

Oregon Ducks Football

The Ducks football team will continue to push the envelope of uniform design by wearing Nike jerseys with a tie-dye theme and a reimagined Steal Your Face logo during their October 25 "Tie-Dye Out" football game against the University of Wisconsin.

School officials are encouraging fans to wear Grateful Ducks apparel during the Ducks' first "Tie-Dye Out" to transform Autzen Stadium into a sea of swirling color and sound.

The Ducks' uniforms and sideline apparel will also take on a tie-dye theme, with the Grateful Dead's iconic Steal Your Face logo reimagined as a Duck with a lightning bolt Swoosh on both shoulders of the team's game jerseys.

History

The origins of this collaboration, 60 years in the making, can be traced back to 1965, when novelist and Merry Pranksters leader Ken Kesey returned home to Oregon from San Francisco, bringing with him the energy that fueled the psychedelic and countercultural movement.

Three years later, the Grateful Dead performed their first concert at the University of Oregon's EMU Ballroom in 1968. As Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux described, the university became the band's "home away from home."

Nike and Oregon remain true to the Grateful Dead's rich history. | Nike

That relationship deepened in 1972, when the band returned to play a legendary benefit concert for the Kesey family's Springfield Creamery, makers of Nancy's Yogurt. They saved the business and delivered one of the most storied performances in rock history.

The Grateful Dead ultimately played more than 20 shows in Eugene, including 10 at Autzen Stadium, reinforcing the city and university's position as a creative hub at the intersection of music, art, and athleticism.