Artist Collaboration
Nike asked 10 artists, one in each city along the 10-stop tour, to paint a pair of LeBron VII shoes and bring to life a pillar from LeBron’s code along with elements of the city. Nike will auction-off the custom footwear at the end of the tour with proceeds benefiting Nike’s community activations. Nike selected Chicago native Jeff Zimmermann to depict “Loyalty” in his design on the LeBron VII’s.
Inspired by LeBron’s achievements on and off the court, Zimmermann shaped his design to reflect LeBron’s ability to rise above and become a man for others.

Zimmerman also wanted his shoes to express LeBron’s positive energy and did so through color and motion. 
Although Zimmermann concedes that Chicago is too complex to be summarized in only a few images, he alludes to the city through color and by a depiction of the flag. Other nods to the city include a Chicago style hotdog both literal and symbolic of the fun “hotdogin’” style of Chicago’s own ballers.  Through the addition of a worn swoosh, Zimmerman adds a more serious representation of the hard work, ideals, and practice that have propelled LeBron to the man and athlete he is today.

LeBron will be presented with the special edition Nike Air Max LeBron VII’s by Zimmermann at Tuesday’s celebration
Zimmermann is a Chicago native and has achieved national and international recognition for his large-scale murals that feature painted images of contemporary pop culture and sensitively rendered portraits. Zimmermann’s pop-culture references range from consumer products such as beer cans, hard candy rings, and high heeled shoes, to more symbolically charged images including portraits of political figures. Zimmermann’s background is in graphic design, which attributes to his flashy graphic forms influenced by consumer media.

SCHEDULE
Chicago, Illinois August 11 Shanghai, China August 28
Washington D.C. August 13 Paris, France September 2-3
Akron, Ohio August 21 London, England September 4-5
Beijing, China August 24 NYC, New York September 20
Shenyang, China August 26 LA, California September 26