Few collaborations have built a universe as recognizable as the Nike SB Dunk Lobster.
The saga was born in 2008 from the meeting between Nike Skateboarding and Concepts, a boutique founded in the Boston area in 1996 that has become, over the years, one of the most important names in international sneaker culture.
The starting point is deeply local: if you think about New England and Boston cuisine, lobster is one of the most immediate symbols. Concepts therefore decided to transform it into a Nike SB Dunk, building not just a colorway but an entire story made of materials, packaging, seafood restaurants, traps, rubber bands, and rare species.
From that first sneaker, a series was born that has lasted over fifteen years and is composed of some of the most desired Dunk SBs ever.
2008: Concepts creates the first Nike SB Dunk Red Lobster
The story begins in 2008.
When Nike SB offered Concepts the chance to design a Dunk, the team looked for a subject that truly represented Boston and New England.
The idea of the lobster also stems from the contrast between its humble origins and the almost luxury perception it takes on in restaurants: on the menu, it is often one of the dishes indicated at "market price," exactly the kind of encounter between local culture and irreverent luxury that Concepts wanted to transfer onto the sneaker.
The first Red Lobster uses different shades of red and pink to reproduce the irregular hues of the crustacean.
The overlays feature a slightly speckled texture, while the inside features a graphic inspired by the bibs and tablecloths used in New England seafood restaurants.
The detail that became most famous, however, is the rubber band applied around the toe box.
It is a direct reference to the bands used to keep lobster claws closed and would become the visual signature of the entire Lobster family.
Why did the Lobster packaging become so important?
Concepts did not want to limit itself to designing a sneaker.
Since the Red Lobster, a fundamental part of the project has been built around presentation and storytelling.
The initial idea included elements related to fishing and the preparation of lobster: special packaging, tools, bibs, and references to classic lobster traps.
It was a relatively rare approach back in 2008. Today, special boxes, accessories, and narrative campaigns are common in sneaker collaborations, but Concepts understood very early on that a release could also become memorable thanks to everything surrounding the shoe.
This is one of the aspects that Nike SB itself later acknowledged, remembering the Lobster as one of the collaborations that defined how to tell the story of a Dunk.
2009: The Nike SB Dunk Blue Lobster arrives
After the success of the first release, Concepts and Nike SB returned to the project in 2009 with the Blue Lobster.
This time the inspiration came from the extremely rare blue lobsters that are occasionally caught along the coasts of North America.
The construction maintains much of the Red's language: suede with chromatic variations, speckled details, lining inspired by the seafood world, and a rubber band on the toe.
However, the campaign completely changes.
Concepts built an almost sci-fi film-like story in which mysterious blue lobsters pose a danger to Boston. Signage, online content, and deliberately exaggerated communication accompanied the sneaker until the reveal.
The first Concepts distribution also used particularly elaborate packaging, while a retail version with traditional Nike SB packaging was subsequently made as well.
Today, the Blue Lobster remains one of the most representative models of the entire saga.
Yellow Lobster: the 36 Friends & Family pairs
The story of the Blue Lobster leads directly to one of the rarest SB Dunks ever.
During the development and launch of the blue version, Nike SB created a Yellow Lobster intended for friends and family of the project.
In this case, there is a particularly well-documented historical fact: 36 pairs were produced.
The yellow references another extremely rare color mutation of the lobster and maintains the structure developed for the previous Lobsters.
The sneaker did not have a normal retail distribution, and precisely for this reason, it has become one of the most difficult sneaker grails to find on the market over time.
Its value, however, does not derive only from its limited run. The Yellow also represents the moment when the Lobster project definitively stops being a single collaboration and becomes a true family of colorways.
2018: Purple Lobster and the return of the saga after ten years
In 2018, ten years after the original Red Lobster, Concepts and Nike SB brought the project back to center stage.
The first great protagonist was the Purple Lobster.
The purple was not chosen by chance: it ideally represents the fusion between the first Red and Blue Lobsters.
The sneaker therefore retains all the fundamental elements of the series but uses different shades of purple, a darker Swoosh with a light border, a black midsole, and the characteristic checkered lining.
The Nike SB Dunk Low Purple Lobster became one of the best-known versions of the modern saga and helped bring the entire series back to a new generation of enthusiasts.
Green Lobster: when Blue and Yellow meet
During the same period, the Green Lobster also appeared.
The color logic continued that of the Purple: if red and blue ideally produce purple, blue and yellow lead to green.
The Green uses different shades of green on the upper, a dark midsole, and brighter accents on the sole.
Naturally, the rubber band on the toe box, the speckled construction, and the elements related to the seafood universe return.
The Green Lobster Special Box represents well how much the project has become collectible even through the different packaging configurations.
2022: Orange Lobster and the global return of the collaboration
In 2022, Concepts returned to the lobster once again with the Orange Lobster.
This time, the coloring also represents the most common aspect we visually associate with cooked lobster: an intense orange distributed over suede and speckled overlays.
Nike SB maintained much of the original formula introduced in 2008: rubber band on the toe box, checkered lining, multiple tones of the same color, and a strong focus on packaging.
The release also coincided with the twentieth anniversary of Nike SB, linking one of Concepts' most famous projects to an important moment in the history of the Skateboarding division.
The Nike SB Dunk Low Concepts Orange Lobster is now the most accessible version of the family compared to the old Red, Blue, and Yellow, and it is also the one that introduced the saga to many younger enthusiasts.
White Lobster: the Friends & Family version that is almost impossible to find
Alongside the Orange, a completely different version also emerged: the White Lobster.
During 2022, images and rumors initially circulated about a possible public release. Instead, the model ended up remaining an extremely limited variant linked to the Friends & Family circuit.
The colorway uses white and gray with small light blue accents, while still maintaining the typical construction of the family.
The White is also interesting because it shows how, after more than a decade, Concepts does not need to use particularly aggressive colors to make a Lobster immediately recognizable.
The texture, rubber band, lining, and construction are now sufficient to identify the sneaker.
How many Nike SB Dunk Lobsters are there?
If we consider the main versions actually produced within the Nike SB Dunk saga, we can distinguish:
- Red Lobster – 2008;
- Blue Lobster – 2009;
- Yellow Lobster – 2009, 36-pair Friends & Family;
- Purple Lobster – 2018;
- Green Lobster – 2018;
- Orange Lobster – 2022;
- White Lobster – Friends & Family.
Over the years, samples, rumors, and hypotheses about further interpretations have also circulated, but it is important not to confuse a mock-up or a project that was never commercialized with a real colorway of the series.
The Lobster story is already rich enough without having to add unconfirmed releases.
Why do all the Lobsters have a rubber band on the toe?
It is probably the smartest detail of the entire project.
When lobsters are caught and kept alive, small rubber bands are applied to their claws to prevent them from opening.
Concepts literally transferred that action onto the Dunk by applying an elastic band around the toe box.
The detail does not have a real technical function on the sneaker, but it communicates the concept even before observing the color, packaging, or branding.
It is a perfect example of storytelling applied to design: instead of simply printing a lobster on the shoe, Concepts transforms a characteristic of the animal into a physical part of the silhouette.
The checkered lining and the reference to New England restaurants
Another recurring element is the inner lining.
The checkered pattern recalls tablecloths, bibs, and fabrics used in classic New England seafood restaurants.
The sneaker thus tells the story of the lobster through multiple levels.
The upper reproduces its color and imperfections. The rubber band recalls the claws. The lining, instead, brings the context in which the crustacean is traditionally served into the shoe.
It is precisely this attention to small references that distinguishes the series from a simple succession of colored Dunks.
Which is the rarest Nike SB Dunk Lobster?
Among the historical versions, the Yellow Lobster occupies a particular position thanks to the only 36 pairs made for Friends & Family.
The White Lobster is also extremely difficult to find, while Red and Blue are now more than fifteen years old and original copies in excellent condition have become progressively rarer.
This does not mean, however, that there is a value ranking valid for every moment.
Size, condition, packaging, accessories, and provenance can enormously change the price of a collectible sneaker.
The Special Boxes, in particular, can have a very different value compared to standard releases because the packaging is an integral part of the Concepts Lobster story.
Why have the Nike SB Lobsters become so important?
The success of the series does not depend only on scarcity.
The 2008 Red Lobster arrived at a time when Concepts was still building its international weight and showed how a local boutique could transform a sneaker collaboration into a story capable of traveling the whole world.
The Blue took that narrative model even further. The Yellow introduced an almost mythological dimension linked to rarity. The Purple and Green showed that the concept still worked ten years later. Finally, the Orange managed to speak to a completely new generation.
Each chapter uses practically the same codes but manages to tell the story of a species, a color mutation, or a new passage of the Concepts story.
From a Boston specialty to a Nike SB icon
The most interesting thing about the Nike SB Dunk Lobster is that the original idea was deeply local.
The Concepts saga is also one of the best examples of the role played by skate shops in the growth of the Dunk SB. From the beginning, Nike has entrusted local shops and communities with an important part of the line's identity: a journey we have reconstructed in our guide to the history of the Nike SB Dunk.
Concepts did not look for a universally famous subject. They chose something that represented Boston, New England, and even a personal memory of those who worked on the project.
Precisely that specificity made the collaboration universal.
Years later, you just have to see a Dunk with speckled suede, a checkered lining, and a rubber band on the toe to immediately understand what we are talking about.
This is the most difficult result to achieve in a sneaker collaboration: transforming a local cultural detail into a language recognizable all over the world.
