South Korean fashion designer Hyein Seo has officially joined the Nike family. For her eponymous label’s first collaboration with the Beaverton, Ore.-based sportswear brand, Seo had the honor of introducing a brand-new Nike silhouette, one which the Swoosh has big plans for throughout 2025.
The Hyein Seo x Nike Ava Rover was first teased in late May and has now been formally revealed. Using the unreleased Nike model as its canvas, Hyein Seo has draped the contemporary low-top sneaker in a nylon-like textile. Blending an earthy color mix of Sequoia/Black/Cargo Khaki, the Hyein Seo x Nike Ava Rover takes on a mostly grayscale appearance, which was emphasized in a just-launched campaign featuring singer 070 Shake. Hyein Seo branding appears on both the sneaker’s heel tab and insole.
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Images of the Nike Ava Rover began circulating in May. The runner-inspired design’s key feature is a stacked ReactX foam midsole which has a sculpted, zen garden-esque abstract pattern. Early reactions have drawn comparisons to Nike’s experimental ISPA line and the popular Nike React Element 87 sneaker from 2018. The latter (and its React Element 55 takedown variation) were hot sellers for Nike at the time, so it’s not too surprising that the brand would revisit a similar aesthetic years later.
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Beyond the Hyein Seo collaboration, several in-line iterations of the Nike Ava Rover have already surfaced including Black/Anthracite, Black/Anthracite/Sequoia/Muslin and Black/Blue Sage/Grey Sage colorways. Those styles are expected to begin releasing at retail in July.
Nike has in recent years been criticized by some analysts for a perceived lack of innovation and overreliance on retro models such as the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Dunk. With several performance successes already in ’25 including A’ja Wilson’s A’One and the Pegasus Premium running shoe, the Ava Rover could be an opportunity for the brand to find its newest lifestyle hit.
The Hyein Seo x Nike Ava Rover will launch exclusively at Hyein Seo’s Seoul flagship store on June 6 followed by a wider regional launch at CDG Seoul, Worksout and Boontheshop. A global launch will follow, with Hyein Seo stating that more details will be announced soon. With an expected retail price of $140, the collaboration has a SKU of HQ2863-300.