NIKESKIMS WAFFLE RACER ARRIVES NOVEMBER 10 IN THREE COLORS

The NikeSKIMS Waffle Racer goes on sale November 10 in three women's colorways, and it is the second shoe from the Nike and SKIMS partnership after the reworked Air Rift. Nike says the shoe keeps the original's waffle outsole and low profile racing shape, with NikeSKIMS touches on the tongue, heel and sock liner. Apparel from a Retro Sport collection follows a week later, on November 17, according to one outlet's release report.

Baroque Brown, Light Bone and Thunder Blue

The three colorways are Baroque Brown, Light Bone with Varsity Red, and Thunder Blue. All three are sold in women's sizing only, and each carries its own style code on the Nike and retailer listings. They launch on nike.com/NikeSKIMS and on the SKIMS website.

The branding is restrained. Sole Retriever notes the NikeSKIMS logo appears only on the tongue tag, which leaves the silhouette to do the talking. The US price is listed at $130, and the Thunder Blue pair is listed in Europe at 129.99 euros.

A Track Surface Problem Made the Waffle Sole

Nike's own history places the invention of the waffle sole in 1971, when Bill Bowerman experimented with outsoles because a hard urethane track at the University of Oregon was injuring runners. Nike's account says Oregon cross country runners wore early versions to win an NCAA title in November 1971. The patent, number 3,793,750, was granted on February 26, 1974, according to History.com.

Flight Club describes the Waffle Racer as one of Nike's first designs, conceived by Bowerman, and Gear Patrol dates the original to 1977. That makes the shape older than most of the brands that now borrow its look. NikeSKIMS is not reviving a trend, it is picking up a 49 year old racing flat and fitting it to a women's last.

Nine and a Half Months After the Air Rift

NikeSKIMS put out its first footwear, the Air Rift in a Rift Mesh pack of three neutral colorways, on January 26, 2026, at $150. A Light Bone Rift Mesh followed on March 12, and a Rift Satin arrived in Night Silver and Obsidian Blue later in the year. The Waffle Racer is the first NikeSKIMS shoe that does not start from the split toe Rift.

The pace of the partnership is also visible away from footwear. The Fall Edit 01 apparel collection was chosen in part by five time Olympic swimmer Stephanie Au in September, and NikeSKIMS opened its first mainland China space at HKRI Taikoo Hui on West Nanjing Road on September 29, running through February 2027. A Tokyo pop up in Harajuku ran October 1 to November 3. The launch film for China was shaped around Shanghai, with dancers in curved concrete settings.

Not the First Waffle Racer to Carry a Collaboration Name

The model has been through the collaboration cycle before. Off-White released a Waffle Racer in colorways listed by END. Clothing for December 12, 2019, and Nike's Air Max Waffle Racer SP came back in November 2024, with an Action Green pair dated November 14 and a Triple Black pair dated November 26, both at $140 according to Hypebeast and Sneaker News. NikeSKIMS is the third name in seven years to take the shape, and the first to size it only for women.

The waffle lineage also carries a collector's price tag. A 1972 Waffle prototype known as the Moon Shoe, one of only 12 made, sold for $437,500 at Sotheby's, per The Week. A $130 racer built on the same outsole idea sits at the other end of that range.

Twenty Dollars Under the Rift

The Waffle Racer's $130 listing sits $20 below the Rift Mesh, and it has a plainer outsole job: a flat waffle pattern built for grip, not the split toe geometry that made the Rift divisive. For NikeSKIMS the cheaper entry point widens the audience. For Nike, it is a chance to put a 1970s design in front of buyers who have never owned a pair of its running flats.

Sole Retriever files the pack under Holiday 2026, which puts a women's running flat in the gift window next to the apparel that follows. Two outlets list November 10 for the shoes, and one source says the date remains subject to confirmation on the NikeSKIMS site, so the launch page is the place to check before the morning of the drop. Three colorways, one tongue tag logo and one date: November 10, with the apparel following on November 17.