There’s no debate — the Nike Air Monarch is the ultimate “dad shoe.” It’s been endearingly known as the sneaker of choice for fathers long before the chunky or dad shoe movement started. It helped spawn the entire trend, which began with millennial-championed “normcore” fashion and has now made it all the way to the runway with high-fashion brands releasing their own puffy silhouettes that sell for hundreds of dollars.
This year, the Air Monarch was acknowledged by Nike as a key player in the chunky-sneaker trend with an updated take on the silhouette dubbed the M2K Tekno. Nike is now recognizing the dad shoe significance of the original model with a special version. Fittingly, it celebrates Father’s Day.
Always on the shelves in its basic white/navy blue, white/black/red and all-black colorways for years, the Air Monarch IV has rarely received any special love. Nike produced special colorways for Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who has been a fan of the model for years, but that’s about it. That now changes with the “Father’s Day” release.
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The limited-edition Monarch features inspiration from a classic father-son activity: camping. The outdoors theme is achieved with a green leather upper referencing vintage canvas army tents, with red and white accents and a gum rubber outsole. Special chenille Swooshes and tongue tags are added, inspired by merit badges.
The Air Monarch IV “Weekend Campout” is available today on Nike SNKRS. A release at additional retailers is scheduled for this weekend.
