THE NOBULL ALL BLACK TRAINER: THE 4-TIME SELL-OUT RETURNS

It’s that time of the year again...Black Friday.

Our friends at NOBULL have just unveiled their 2020 All Black Black Friday Collection, a limited edition drop of their most beloved silhouettes...completely blacked out. So if you have ever wondered why you couldn’t find your favourite NOBULL style in an all black option...this is why!

This is the ONLY time of year that the styles are released in the infamous ‘black on black’ colour-way. Generally speaking, all black is one of the most sought after sneaker colours going, but one of the rarest in the world of NOBULL. So here’s everything you need to know about the infamous All Black NOBULL Collections (past and present), and what you need to do to stand your best chance of snagging a pair (or two!) in the release next Friday. So listen up, or risk waiting around for Black Friday 2021...

THE HISTORY

First things first, there is some history here. Rewind to 2015 and we saw the first ever release of the NOBULL A Black on Black iteration of NOBULL’s first Trainer silhouette, released on Black Friday at midnight American East Coast Time / 5AM UK time. NOBULL fans, hungry for an All Black edition of the new but already beloved Trainer, snapped up the release and the entire drop sold out within 2 minutes  - globally. The release was gone in the blink of an eye, and a tired eye. Those lucky few that were willing to stay up until midnight (or wake up at 5am this side of the pond), secured a pair of all blacks in the original release. And for those who missed out? They would have to hold out for another year. And so the Blackout began…

On Black Friday 2016, the All Black Trainer made its year-long, and highly anticipated return. This time fans were treated to all All Black Edition of NOBULL’s new and improved SuperFabric Trainer Silhouette. Following the success of the prior years’ release, in 2016 NOBULL had slightly higher inventory (a.k.a more trainers were made), but the result was the same...a repeat sell-out. A Blackout pattern was starting to form...

So in 2017 the NOBULL Black Friday release got bigger. Instead of just one shoe, we saw the introduction of an All Black Collection. Featuring a blacked out NOBULL Lifter, High Top Trainer and a Leather Trainer. But it wasn’t just the Collection that got bigger, 2017 was the year that the NOBULL All Black release skyrocketed. As Todd Meleney, NOBULL’s VP of Marketing, shares...In 2017 NOBULL ‘were so stunned by the velocity’ of the launch. The urgency of the previous years, was amplified and then some in 2017. The demand for the release was off the charts, NOBULL had never seen traffic like it, and nor had the internet in fact. Shopify (the world's leading e-commerce platform for retailers) ‘told NOBULL that they were the number 1 store in the world, out of 500k others’ at Launch. This is a staggering achievement, and a reflection of the excitement and demand for the All Black releases.  

But what makes this internet breaking performance even more impressive (and mind-blowing) is the context of the release date and time...Midnight American East Coast Time, 5AM British Time...on BLACK FRIDAY!
The biggest day of the year for retailers, and a seriously late night (or early morning in the UK) launch time for consumers. This is the true sign of a phenomenon. So why do the All Black Collections launch overnight..?

Todd explains ‘ordering at midnight created an experience with the brand and a level of urgency. In the early years, and still at times now, launches sell out.’ None more so than the All Black Collections. So if you aren't willing to stay up late/get up early to be ready to add to checkout at launch, the shoe will be sold out by the time you wake the next day. ‘If you miss out, you may not be able to order that product again’, ever!

The following year in 2018, the All Black Collection saw further developments with the addition of the All Black Knit Runner. This combined with a limited edition run of returning favourites such as the SuperFabric Trainer and the High Top Trainer, saw yet another sell-out collection, and the midnight shopping frenzy continued.

Each year the NOBULL Black Friday collection draws viewership from athletes across the entire sport. But it was in 2019 that NOBULL’s Black Friday truly went viral, in every sense of the word. Following the recruitment of Tia-Clair Toomey and Katrin Davíðsdóttir, alongside NOBULL OG Brooke Wells, NOBULL kicked off their Black Friday season with The NOBULL Film Festival. A first-if-its-kind event which showcased NOBULL’s own short film, and celebrated the incredible content being produced by the Fitness Community, the event was hosted in New York, and with the content streamed to the World online, it amassed views of over 2 million. All eyes were on NOBULL...and everyone knew what was to follow...the fourth All Black Release. With the addition of new top-tier athletes, it was no surprise that a whole new cohort of NOBULL devotees were keen to snag an elusive pair of All Black NOBULLs, and so the brand registered yet another Black Friday sell-out, their biggest ever.

BLACK FRIDAY 2020

And so we come to Black Friday 2020, and NOBULL have unveiled ‘their biggest collection yet’. WIth the addition of more recent styles to the mix, such as the already beloved Diamond Mesh Runner and the Canvas Trainer, there is an All Black option for everyone this year. But what you need to know is that the inventory is still LIMITED, so if past experience is anything to go buy, these shoes will sell out, with only 500 SuperFabric Blackout Trainers available at WIT Worldwide, you’ll need to set those alarm clocks to be ready to go at 5AM sharp. So what is the best way to increase your chances of securing the shoe you are after? Visit the WIT Launches page now to explore the Blackout Styles in this year’s Collection, and be sure to sign up to be notified of the drop first. This means that you will be the first to know when the drop has switched live on launch day, giving you the best chance of snagging your size and checking straight out. 

But this is not the only reason why this year’s collection is their biggest yet. It also encapsulates a wider Holiday Collection which features an additional 3 spin-off Camo Collections inspired by the All Black's incognito design, but featuring an army-inspired camouflaged design, available in a choice of 3 colour-ways - the Army Camo, the Sand Camo and the Forest Camo. This is not the first time NOBULL has widened their Black Friday Collection, we saw the Black Friday Wild Pack in 2019 and the Black and White Collection in 2018. In years gone by these Black Friday Spin-off collections have been just as rare and hard to pin-down as the infamous All Black Collection.

So if you are one of the lucky few who already have a pair of All Blacks in your possession (or perhaps you just fancy a bit of Camo in your collection) be sure to also explore the Camo Collection styles and colour-ways on Launches and sign up to be notified of the launch.