Way back in 2020, a year famously free of distractions, Tom Sachs quietly released the NikeCraft Mars Yard 2.5. The sneakers were a follow-up to the famed artist’s trio of acclaimed collaborations with the Swoosh: 2012’s Mars Yard 1.0, which still regularly fetches five figures on StockX; the Mars Yard 2.0, which dropped in 2017 to even greater levels of initial hype; and 2019’s avant garde Mars Yard Overshoe, which shrouded a regular pair of Mars Yards beneath a hazmat-suit-esque exterior. The shoes all dabble in retrofuturism and gorpcore for a construction Sachs has always said are function-first, meant to be worn rather than kept deadstock in collectors’ closets. But it’s the silhouette itself and timeless colorway (creamy off-white mesh, soft brown suede, and a bright red Swoosh) that have made the kicks so hotly coveted.
Unlike its celebrated predecessors, however, the Mars Yard 2.5—which augmented the earlier designs with the additions of a black toe cap, carbon fiber plate, and natural rubber sole—never received a proper public release. Instead, it was seeded out to a limited number of wear testers who’d applied for a chance to try out the shoe. The recipients were expected to wear the 2.5s hard and then return the shoes to Sachs and Nike with detailed notes—hence the model not exactly popping off on resale sites.
A wider release of the final product—the Mars Yard 3.0—was expected to arrive eventually, but that prospect has remained off the table for the last couple of years. Following the success of Sachs’s far more accessible NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe in 2022, Nike paused its contract with the artist following allegations of abuse and inappropriate workplace conduct from Sachs’s former employees. Needless to say, shoes should be the last thing on anyone’s mind in these situations, but among the fallout seemed to be the shuttering of the Mars Yard program. The 3.0 became a memory, a strange blip in sneaker news during a particularly strange era in world history.
In September 2024, however, Nike announced the renewal of its collaboration with the artist, issuing a statement that “Tom has demonstrated and recommitted to fostering a culture of respect and inclusivity.” The first release under the new partnership? You guessed it: the long-awaited Mars Yard 3.0.
The official release version of the sneaker features some new updates in Nike React foam in the midsole and a new textile on the black toe cap (the prior was a functional rubber). No official release date has been confirmed, but Sachs announced on Instagram it’ll hit shelves and apps this September, presumably via SNKRS, for a price of $275.
