The encyclopedia · Legal & Compliance · Legal decision · 2023–2025
CLOT's founder switched from Nike to Adidas after 17 years — Nike sued his company
Edison Chen's streetwear label CLOT jumped from Nike to Adidas in 2023; two years later Nike sued his US company for $126,615 in unpaid goods.
CLOT · Juice Los Angeles LLC
What happened
Hong Kong star Edison Chen's streetwear label CLOT built a 17-year run of Nike collaborations starting in 2006, including the celebrated 'What The Dunk' and Air Force 1 'Silk' releases that made CLOT one of the most recognised Asian names in sneaker culture.
In October 2023, at Clot's Shanghai Fashion Week show, Chen unveiled a new partnership with Adidas Originals instead, ending the Nike relationship without, Nike says, settling accounts first. Nike filed suit in the US District Court for the Central District of California on 12 August 2025 against Chen's company Juice Los Angeles LLC.
The complaint sought $126,615.58 for goods and services Nike had already supplied to Juice — a modest sum that was briefly and widely misreported as $126 million because of a clerical error in the filing, turning a routine invoice dispute into a viral story about a brand snubbing its longtime partner.
On 29 August 2025, seventeen days after filing, Nike moved to dismiss the suit without prejudice, keeping the option to refile. The episode left CLOT's switch to Adidas publicly tangled in unpaid Nike bills rather than a clean handoff.
Why it happened
- Chen announced the Adidas partnership at his own runway show before Nike's outstanding invoices with Juice were resolved, turning a brand transition into a public dispute.
- A clerical error inflated a $126,615 claim into a reported $126 million, which spread across sneaker media before the correction caught up.
- Two decades of goodwill from a landmark collaboration did not buy CLOT any grace period on an unpaid balance once it moved to a competitor.
The lesson
Ending a long brand partnership without clearing the books first turns a strategic pivot into a public lawsuit, no matter how small the underlying bill.
Sources
- Complex | Nike Is Suing Clot's Edison Chen for $126K
- Inside Retail Asia | Nike sues Hong Kong star Edison Chen after he signs with Adidas
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