Ducati partners with DC Shoes as 2000s revival begins

Humans are a funny bunch, and Ducati’s latest collaboration with 2000s skate shoe icon DC Shoes is proof why.  

Just when you think dorky fashion trends from yesteryear are rightly dead and buried, the youth of today discover vintage styles and proclaim them to be cool.

It happened with the 70s and 80s, and now the 90s is having its moment in the sun with grungy and surfy looks at every bar and nightclub from St Kilda to Kings Cross. Or should that be Fitzroy to Marrickville? 

But it won’t be long before the 2000s start to come back to the fore. And the Y2K-era fashion revival may already be in motion. 

Skinny jeans are back in vogue apparently, and chunky skate shoes could be next.  

California’s DC Shoes was an action sports icon in the late 90s and early 00s, famous for its chunky, but highly sought after skate shoes. 

The motocross world was not exempt from the trends of the time, with DC Shoes, three-quarter length cargo shorts, and flat-peak caps not an unusual look in pit lane. DC also sponsored many motocross athletes and was heavily involved in the sport.

For better or worse (but probably better) the world quickly moved on, and DC Shoes faded into obscurity as chunky sneakers lost favour with young people. 

The Californian brand ended its motocross program in 2016, but now DC is back in the game, inking a deal with Ducati’s new MXGP team as its apparel and footwear partner. 

Seeing the famous DC logo on the new Ducati Desmo450 MX will almost certainly be a big shot of nostalgia for many moto fans, but it remains to be seen if the brand’s chunky skate shoes also resurface. 

Jeremy Seewer and Mattia Guadagnini will line-up for the Ducati Corse Arubua.it Factory MX team in the 2025 MXGP Championship, as the Italian firm makes its full-time debut with the new Desmo450 MX. The season kicks off on March 2 in Cordoba, Argentina.

Of course, DC’s deal with Ducati doesn’t necessarily mean the brand will take over the motocross world once again, but it does lend some truth to the belief that everything old eventually becomes new again.

Will baggy riding gear, spiky hair, metalcore music, and full body tattoos also come back? We'll have to wait for the Gen Z TikTok prophets to enlighten us.

All of that said, I won’t be rushing out to buy a pair of DCs; I’m more of a Vans guy anyway.