Helping Tell the Story of the Ayantee Dunk
College Daze helped bring community context to Arial Robinson’s 2022 NC A&T “Ayantee NSC” Nike Dunk release.
Arial describes herself as the youngest of four Black women who became the first to design an official Nike sneaker for an HBCU. Her design drew inspiration from NC A&T’s New Student Center, connecting architecture, STEM, art and Aggie pride. According to Arial’s project archive, the shoe later sold out through the SNKRS app and releases at Social Status, DTLR, The Athlete’s Foot and Baseman Shoes.
What College Daze contributed
Our role was promotion and world-building. Daze provided photographs from the Aggie Archives, designed the flyer, supplied the College Daze logo cloud rug, brought people and helped create the décor Arial requested.
The archive connected the release to campus memory. The rug made our visual language physical. The flyer signaled the story. The crowd gave it life. Each contribution supported Arial’s vision rather than competing with it.
A model for HBCU creative collaboration
Saint learned that good promotion is context arriving on time. Daisy learned that archives can move from memory into product storytelling. B-Loved learned that the strongest partnership makes the central creator more visible.
Source: Explore Arial Robinson’s NC A&T “Ayantee NSC” Dunk archive.
Continue the College Daze story
Why We Built the Aggie Archives · Creative Daze: Turning Student Ideas Into Work