Melitta Baumeister and Nike have a new sneaker collaboration on the way, and it’s their most daring release yet. The New York City-based designer and the Swoosh released their inaugural sneaker project in April, centered on the hand-painted Vomero Premium and Pegasus Premium, which immediately ranked among the best releases of 2026. For fall, Baumeister is taking a different approach by releasing a modified version of the split-toe Air Rift model dubbed the Rift Rocker.

For this project, Baumeister says she “didn’t want to just put our colors on it.” This time, she and her namesake brand wanted to bring their avant-garde lens to their new Rift Rocker. Despite the sneaker still having the DNA of the Air Rift, this version is uniquely her own. Baumeister’s eye motif appears on the heel and co-branded “MB Swoosh” logos throughout.…