Pim Dresen, founder of Netherlands-based Mercer Amsterdam, has developed a cult following for his brand’s high-end sneakers, which are handmade in Portugal. His latest creation, though, has less earthly origins.
Dresen told FN that he has long been obsessed with NASA apparel, and when he couldn’t find aerospace-inspired sneakers to complete his outfits, he decided to make his own.
This summer, the label will launch a new collaboration with NASA that honors the history of space exploration. The collab is executed on the W3rd silhouette (the brand’s best-selling model) and is set to arrive on July 20 — the date Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.
Here is a first look at the finished shoe:
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Dresen, who launched Mercer Amsterdam in 2013, acknowledged his fascination with NASA since childhood and said the bravery of astronauts was the catalyst for the collection.
“The people going into space are basically the toughest people out there, doing what 99.9 percent of the population does not dare to do,” he said. “This made me want to do a sneaker with the NASA logo, to represent this dream that every kid and adult has — or had at one point in their life.”
Aside from the prominent NASA logo on the upper, the sneakers feature several ties to space exploration, such as hits of silver foil on the upper and insole (meant to resemble spaceships). And the GPS coordinates of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida appear on the upper in gold.
The Mercer Amsterdam x NASA W3rd sneakers, which are hand-numbered and limited to 150 pairs worldwide, will retail for 250 euros ($309) at select retail partners and via Merceramsterdam.com.
In addition to the shoes, the brand will sell a NASA T-shirt for 50 euros ($62), and it also is offering 10 handmade shoeboxes containing the sneakers and shirt for 300 euros ($370).
