This Friday, Palace‘s first collaboration with Nike arrives not as a quiet experiment, but as a full-throttle celebration of two cultures that have rarely shared space until now. Skateboarding and football, once seen as separate worlds, meet here in perfect rhythm. This release is not just another drop. It is the result of years of admiration, childhood memories, and bold ambition from a brand that never plays small.
Lev Tanju, Palace’s co-founder and creative director, speaks with unmistakable pride when discussing the project. He remembers the Total90 boots not as distant relics, but as personal icons – footwear he wore on pitches and later adapted for skate sessions. This duality shaped the entire P90 collection. The gear carries echoes of early 2000s football kits, with sleeveless jerseys, oversized tracksuits, and bold graphics that feel nostalgic yet fresh. Each piece bears the layered mark of Palace’s tri-ferg logo intersecting with Nike’s Swoosh – a visual handshake between two giants.
Gareth Skewis, Palace’s CEO and co-founder, describes the partnership as inevitable. “Nike has always been there in the background,” he says. “Not just as a brand we admired, but as one whose spirit aligned with ours.” Their shared love for athletes, rebels, and creators made this collaboration about more than commerce. It became a mission.
The campaign imagery, captured by Alasdair McLellan in London, features Wayne Rooney front and center. His presence alone signals how seriously both brands take this moment. Rooney recalls testing early prototypes of the original T90s. Now, decades later, he steps into their rebirth. Standing alongside him are Leah Williamson and Reece James, current stars who represent the next chapter of English football. Young talents Lenna Gunning-Williams and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens join them, bridging the generational gap. The cast is rounded out by rapper Giggs and Palace’s own skate team, who ground the project in authenticity rather than hype.
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Beyond apparel and footwear, Palace and Nike have built something physical: a permanent home for the community. Manor Place, a derelict building near their South London headquarters, has been transformed into a hybrid skate park and football cage. Its floor tiles mirror those at Southbank, a sacred site for UK skaters. Beneath the benches lies a retractable pitch engineered to change function without losing soul. Victoria benches, long thought lost to redevelopment, were tracked down and reinstalled – each weighing nearly a ton. These details matter because they reflect care, not convenience.
Inside Manor Place, rotating art exhibitions will showcase emerging photographers and designers. A studio space offers residencies to young creatives. Everything remains free to access, which is a rare gift in any major city. “We wanted warmth, safety, and openness,” Skewis explains. “No barriers, no fees, no exclusivity.“
This philosophy extends to the product rollout. The P90 footwear launches globally through Palace stores and online, while select regions gain access via the SNKRS app from Nike. Shell suits, jerseys, and graphic tees feature motifs pulled straight from Nike’s archive and remixed with Palace’s irreverent energy. Neon greens, retro typography, and mismatched logos create a look that feels archival yet rebellious.
Tanju admits that people laughed when he first described his vision for Manor Place. Who would believe that a skate park could transform into a football field? Yet today, it stands as proof that imagination backed by persistence can reshape reality. Tanju designed every ramp and curve, pulling inspiration from the spots where he grew up skating. Nothing was left to chance.
In Britain, skate culture and football fandom have long overlapped, especially among working-class youth. Palace understood this instinctively. Back in 2012, their collaboration with UMBRO raised eyebrows in the skate world. Critics claimed that football had no place alongside boards and rails. Tanju disagreed then. He disagrees even more strongly now.
Seeing Rooney wear Palace-branded P90s outside their office still feels surreal to the team. But it also feels right. Natural. Earned. There’s no forced fusion here. No marketing gimmickry. Just mutual respect wrapped in nylon and stitched with purpose.
You don’t need to be a skater or a striker to appreciate it. You only need to recognize passion when you see it. This isn’t fashion pretending to care about sports. It’s sports remembering why style matters.
Manor Place opens on October 31st. The collection drops the same day. Whether you purchase a jersey, visit the space, or simply watch the campaign unfold, know this: You’re witnessing something genuine. It’s something that was built slowly, deliberately, and joyfully.
