To be honest, I’m not really a sneakerhead,” says Daniella Kallmeyer, a New York designer known for her refined, sensual take on tailoring and stylish urban sportswear. Even so, athletics—especially women’s sports—has become a bigger part of her life over the past ten years or so, she says, partly because of her ongoing work with the athletes themselves. That connection, she explains, has made her “truly fall in love with sports through the eyes of the athlete.”

Today, Kallmeyer is celebrating that love not with a ring, but with a shoe. She’s unveiling a sneaker collaboration with Nike: a sleek version of Nike’s Tennis Centre style, which she’s crafted in a soft putty-colored suede and finished with vintage-style metal details. “When this opportunity came up,” she says, “I really asked myself, ‘How can we take an iconic, classic sports shoe and make it fit naturally into the wardrobe of the Kallmeyer woman?’”

This isn’t Kallmeyer’s first time working with the big brand. It was Australian tennis player Rennae Stubbs who first introduced her to women’s basketball and eventually connected her with Nike. That led to the brand hosting Cafe Kallmeyer during WNBA All-Star Weekend last summer.

The shoe was originally designed for tennis, and aside from all the current US Open excitement, the sport is definitely having a cultural moment—both in pop culture (think the movie Challengers) and in fashion. “Everyone’s excited about tennis,” Kallmeyer says. “And I think that’s such a beautiful, exciting, and interesting thing. Having just gone through the Knicks finals with the city, I love seeing that same energy now spreading across cultures and industries because of tennis.”

Kallmeyer’s version is clearly elegant and clean, adding a subtle touch of character to an already understated shoe style. “What’s cool about the direction we took is that it’s not a performance shoe—it’s a lifestyle shoe,” she explains. “I think tennis culture overlaps a lot with my community, my clients, and my personal interests, especially if you think of tennis more as a spectator experience rather than just a sport. In general, there’s a certain polish to tennis. There’s an excellence to it, both as a sport and as a medium.”

“We really stripped this shoe down to its basics and rebuilt it from the materials, the craftsmanship, and a very raw sense of design and style,” Kallmeyer continues. “We made a custom color we’re calling ‘travertine,’ in suede. What’s really fun about how we made this shoe is that the craftsmanship is so visible. It’s not about lots of style lines, bright colors, or color blocking—not what you might expect from the flashier side of sports or tennis, which is often very bold and vibrant. This is very neutral and really focuses on the material and the construction.” The details are subtle, like a blanket stitch along the back of the heel and the single-tone color, which highlights the soft texture of the suede—a material she imagines will gently age and change with wear. “I really love the idea that this shoe becomes more yours the more you wear it—that lived-in suede feel.”

To showcase the Tennis Centre, Kallmeyer brought together a strong creative team, including artist and photographer Collier Schorr, to capture tennis player Amanda Anisimova and art dealer Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn wearing the sneaker. “We embraced two contrasting styling approaches for Amanda,” Kallmeyer says. “One was much more minimal, where we dressed her in a backless halter look. I really wanted her body, strength, and power to define the silhouette. The other was a fresh take on classic tennis whites, but with exaggerated shapes and layers, really showing the shoe as a lifestyle piece.”Hatten, then, “represents the world that Kallmeyer stands for: you can love tennis, play it, watch it, and appreciate what it means to support excellence—especially women excelling in the sport. And that can truly connect with a different culture, community, or craft.”

“To me,” Kallmeyer adds, “it represents everything that this kind of crossover was meant to be.”

The Nike x Kallmeyer Tennis Centre is priced at $160 and is available at nike.com, kallmeyer.nyc, and select retailers.

Photo: Collier Schorr
Photo: Collier Schorr

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about Daniella Kallmeyers Nike collaboration written in a natural conversational tone with clear answers

General Background

1 Who is Daniella Kallmeyer
Shes a New Yorkbased fashion designer known for her brand Kallmeyer She focuses on sharp tailoring utilitarian chic and making clothes for real womens bodiesoften inspired by menswear and workwear

2 Wait isnt she a fashion designer Why is she working with Nike
Great question She recently got really into sports and realized her fashion designs didnt work for her new active lifestyle She saw a gap between gym clothes and clothes you want to be seen in outside the gym so she pitched Nike a concept to fix that

3 Is this a full clothing line or just one item
Its a full capsule collection It includes things like sports bras leggings jackets and shorts but they are all designed with her signature tailoring and streetwear aesthetic

4 When did this collaboration launch
The first collection dropped in early 2024 Its part of Nikes broader push to collaborate with designers who arent traditional sportswear experts

Design Inspiration

5 What makes this collection different from regular Nike gear
Its all about the third place Most activewear is designed for the gym or the couch Kallmeyer designed these pieces to transition seamlessly from a workout to a coffee meeting or a night out The fabrics are technical but the silhouettes are more structured and fashionforward

6 Im not an athlete Will this look weird on me
Not at all In fact thats the whole point Kallmeyer specifically designed the pieces to flatter diverse body types and to be worn by people who arent necessarily training for a marathon The cuts are more forgiving and tailored than typical skintight sportswear

7 What are the key pieces I should look out for
The standout item is definitely the Boxing Jacketits a cropped structured jacket that looks like a cool blazer but is made of breathable stretchy fabric The highwaisted leggings with utility pockets are also a fan favorite