Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low Premium HTM 'Milan - Black Multi-Color'
Colorway: Black/Reflect Silver/Multi-Color · Style code: 698595-009 · Release date: April 8, 2014 · Price: $5643 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low Premium HTM 'Milan - Wolf Grey' (698595-010) · Nike Kobe 9 Elite Low Premium HTM 'Milan - White Gum' (698595-109) · Nike Kobe 9 Elite Premium 'What The Kobe' (678301-904) · Nike Kobe 9 Elite Protro 'What The Kobe' 2025 (FZ7335-101) · Nike Kobe 9 Elite 'Victory' (630847-077)
HTM is an initialism of three first names (Hiroshi, Tinker, Mark) and functions as Nike's smallest and least commercial design channel. Fujiwara had pioneered it inside the company; Hatfield had by then designed most of the Air Jordan line and the Air Max 1; Parker ran the business. What comes out of it is normally an existing model rebuilt in materials the general release would not justify, produced in quantities that make distribution an afterthought.
Their Kobe 9 did two things at once. The signature line had gone high-cut that year, and this was the first low version of the ninth model; it was also the first to put Flyknit on that low, over the Lunarlon cushioning and Flywire cables the shoe already used.
The detailing is where the price went: snake scales embossed into the knit, laces flecked with reflective thread, anodised metal aglets carrying the HTM mark. This black pair launched through two Milan stores in April 2014 at $340, with a small New York release following in July.