Professor J
May 24, 2025
Spontaneous style moments at chess hubs in NYC and DC reveal the deeper cultural resonance behind Kyrie Irving’s “Twin Flame” sneakers — and how one dashiki-style jersey completed the look
You need a dashiki with those!
That’s what Ray – a chess hustler I met during a recent visit to Washington Square in NYC – said when I showed him a photo of the “Twin Flame” sneakers by Kyrie Irving that I had recently bought.
Interestingly enough, I had just ordered a dashiki online for the very reason that Ray was suggesting. And I don’t think that’s a mere coincidence.
If two strangers from different cities conclude that a dashiki is the best thing to rock with Kyrie’s kicks – which are made by China-based ANTA Sports – it speaks to the power of the tribal ethos that the NBA star is explicitly seeking to evoke through his signature sneakers.
In a 2024 video review, sneaker buff Mike Guillory expounds upon the “tribal designs” and other interesting details of the Twin Flame, which pays homage to Kyrie’s parents, Elizabeth Larson, who hailed from the Standing Rock Sioux, and Dred Irving.
“It’s a really cool design and I like how again he stays really true to his heritage,” Guillory says of the Twin Flame.
The quest for the right 'dashiki'
The shoe – which features a splendid array of orange arrows in the Native American-inspired embroidery – is just one of several of Kyrie’s sneakers that pays tribute to his heritage. For instance, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals of 2024, the Dallas Mavericks’ star point guard debuted the Anta Kai 1 “Chief Hélà,” a moccasin-inspired sneaker adorned with suede tassels. He also has a model called the “Tribe.”
Since the Twin Flame designs are a striking yet soothing contrast of hues of purple, orange, gold, pink and blue, I tried to find a traditional dashiki with similar colors. But it was difficult for me to find a 4X.
Which is why I was delighted when I found a custom purple “traditional African ethnic style authentic baseball jersey” on a website called fansidea.com. This dashiki design-style baseball jersey seems like it was specifically made to go with Kyrie’s Twin Flames.
Purple reign
The world seems to agree. I drew nothing but double takes and compliments the first time I stepped out with this particularly photogenic purple ensemble.
In fact, the first day I wore the dashiki-style jersey with my Twin Flames, two of my chess buddies from the Motherland – International Master Oladapo Adu, of Nigeria, and Kebadu Belachew, of Ethiopia – made a video of me playing chess with Adu at DuPont Circle, the famed chess hub of Washington, D.C. The fact that I had a purple chess set made the spectacle all the more majestic.