Nike Air Force 1
NIKE AIR FORCE 1, A TIMELESS CLASSIC
The Nike Air Force 1 is arguably Nike's most iconic silhouette. This model was one of the first to use the Nike AIR cushioning system. It was the first basketball shoe with this technology, which was still new and revolutionary at the time of its release. Designed by Bruce Kilgore in 1982, this shoe is a blend of simplicity and technicality. With its pristine white design, contrasted by a grey swoosh and strap for the mid and high versions, its outsole is dressed in light grey tones. Legend has it that the style is inspired by the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral. The name is a direct reference to the American presidential plane. The Air Force 1 has a special history that makes it one of the most iconic sneakers models. Nike unveiled the model and democratised it in the 1980s by associating it with the greatest basketball players of the time.
But after only two years on the market and immediate success, the American equipment manufacturer decided to withdraw their famous pair from the market! This created a surge in demand. Desperate young people in the neighbourhoods tried to revive their old pairs... Shoe shop managers, noticing the high demand, started to put pressure on the American manufacturer to bring back copies of the much-loved model. The brand with the swoosh finally agreed, provided that orders were substantial. The pairs sold out at an incredible rate, creating a unique connection between the Air Force 1 and street kids.
A PAIR OF TRAINERS INFLUENCED BY STREETWEAR AND HIP-HOP
With the rise of street and hip-hop culture in the 1990s and 2000s, the popularity of this pair of sneakers exploded.
It was street culture and the explosion of rap music in the 90s that totally propelled the pair to classic status. The pair was seen on the feet of the most influential rappers such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, creator of the inescapable Yeezy label, and Damon Dash, who went crazy for them. An anecdote has it that the rapper Nelly fell in love with the model and, to testify his love, he dedicated a song in homage to the model entitled "Air Force Ones". Similarly, T.I, a rapper from Atlanta, released a song called "My Air Forces". In a recent report by Thibaut de Longeville on the Nike SNKRS app, T.I went so far as to say that "he wouldn't wear another model for anything in the world".
In the following years, the model crossed the Atlantic and established itself in Europe, with London as the capital. Its new rappers enabled the model and its values to spread throughout the continent. Today, the Air Force 1 is available in a variety of versions, such as the recent Off-White Black version, and it continues to write its history and confirm its iconic status!
ICONIC AIR FORCE ONE COLLABORATIONS: OFF-WHITE, TRAVIS SCOTT, CLOT, PEACEMINUSONE
Nike Air Force 1 Low
Nike always places great importance on the history and world of its shoes. Released at $62.95 in 1983, one year after the launch of the High, the Air Force 1 Low quickly became an iconic product in Hip-Hop culture. Nicknamed the "Uptown" in the streets of New York, it quickly became an icon of the city's working-class neighbourhoods due to its accessibility. In 1984, two years after its release, Nike planned to stop production of the AF1, but thanks to enthusiastic Baltimore fans and the "Color of the Month Club", a group of local retailers, the AF1 survived. The American firm aims to give the artists, sportsmen and designers who have grown up with the silhouette an opportunity to rethink the models. Each collaboration creates a real ambience, enhancing the art of the designer. Over the years, emblematic collaborations have been created. As part of his The Ten collection, the late Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton's men's collections, put his signature on 10 iconic models from the Swoosh brand to create the Nike Off White range, among them the Nike Air Force 1 Off-White. Playing with innovative materials such as a transparent fabric, Virgil Abloh brought a destructured element with a swoosh and zig-zag stitching. Available in 3 colours, White, Black and Volt, this sneaker is a must-have for sneaker fans. The most influential rapper on the planet, Travis Scott, has also revisited the Nike Air Force 1 three times. After working on two AF1s in canvas White and Sail with interchangeable swooshes, the Flame offered us the magnificent Nike AF1 Fossil. Playing on material inserts and patterns reminiscent of his universe, this sneaker has thrilled basketball fans with its box full of details. This is a pair that once again sold out very quickly, like all those from the Nike Travis Scott collection. Edison Chen's Hong Kong label Clot has also offered up 4 colourways of their Nike Air Force 1 Clot with white, blue, black and most recently pink. Featuring a satin upper and embroidered with the brand's motif, this sneaker is composed of a print applied directly to the pair that is revealed once the fabric is removed. This extremely limited collaboration was a highlight of 2019. Finally, we should mention the Nike Air Force 1 Peacemisunone in collaboration with the Korean artist G-DRAGON. The K-pop singer revisited the classic in his own way with a floral print hidden under the Black and White uppers. This original and surprising edition has managed to create a lot of buzz and has converted many people to Korean fashion. Nike never ceases to amaze us with its collaborations and has succeeded in establishing the Nike Air Force One as a timeless classic.
Nike Air Force 1 Mid
It wasn't until 1994 that Nike introduced a new iteration, the Air Force One Mid. The design of the Air Force One Mid is considered a hybrid between the High and Low models, with a mid-rise collar that covers the bottom of the ankle. It was unveiled during the Nike "City Attack" advert, which highlighted the different branches of urban culture, notably embodied by Bobbito Garcia, a DJ and streetball player who recently collaborated on a shoe in NFT. The entire campaign, dubbed NYC, is centred around the different activities going on in the various neighbourhoods of New York. The slogan was accompanied by a slew of new products from the Beaverton-based brand, such as the Jewel Swoosh, the Dunk Low "Flip The Old School", or the Nike Air Force 1 Mid Jewel, which introduced the NYC Logo. The latter was reissued in 2021. A real success on television, its influence went way beyond the Atlantic and seduced the European public in 1994 thanks to Foot Locker, which set up shop in Paris and London. It was thanks to the Air Force One Mid that Europe was introduced to the silhouette more than ten years after its creation. The trainers were so popular that in 1997, an "Independence Day" edition was released. Inspired by the "4th of July", the American bank holiday that celebrates the independence of the United States, it will be reissued in 2022 alongside the Air Force 1 Mid "Ale Brown". The American equipment manufacturer has notably called on various designers to collaborate on its Mid model. The most prominent is undoubtedly Riccardo Tisci, former artistic director of Givenchy and current chief creative officer of Burberry. In 2014, he offered us his "Nike + RT" collection, which revisited 4 versions of Air Force One from a luxury angle for men and women.
Nike Air Force 1 High
This was the first model to be unveiled in 1982 and was priced at $80. Its name is inspired by the famous plane used by the President of the United States and incorporates the AIR technology hidden under the insole, which provides better cushioning for basketball players. This air bubble was a real innovation for its time. It made its mark thanks to Nike's desire to make people believe that with this model, trainer lovers would be capable of spectacular jumps. To promote the shoes, the Swoosh brand called on six NBA players for the Air Force One campaign: Moses Malone, Michael Cooper, Jamaal Wilkes, Bobby Jones, Mychal Thompson, and Calvin Natt. Initially, Nike only wanted to run the model for two years and move on, but the shoe was so successful that three Baltimore-based shop managers begged the company to supply them with AF1s due to their cultural impact and the demand from aficionados. The Beaverton-based firm imposed a minimum of 1,200 pairs per order for the three shops: Downtown Locker Room, Cinderella Shoes, and Charley Rudo's Sports. The men's and women's shoes sold like hotcakes, and AF1 fans from all over the United States made the trip to Baltimore to get the trainers in the Color of the Month pack. The three managers of these iconic shops were nicknamed the "Three Amigos".
Today it is through the vision of Matthew Williams, artistic director of Givenchy, that the model is experiencing a revival. His label Alyx Studio has collaborated with Nike to offer us four Air Force One Highs in premium full-grain leather, including the Red and Black. For its 40th anniversary in 2022, the retro silhouette has been updated with the Air Force One High Sculpt, which uses the OG codes of the shoe but without the iconic ankle strap. It is available in White Silver and Gym Red.
Nike Air Force 1 Flyknit
In 2012, Nike introduced Flyknit technology, a material composed of strong, lightweight yarns that have been woven into an upper, providing a secure fit for the athlete's foot on the shoe's platform. It uses ultra-strong fibres to create lightweight structures that offer areas of support, elasticity and breathability like the Nike Flyknit Racer. It wasn't until 2015 and the legendary Kobe Bryant that the first Nike Air Force 1 Flyknit model was seen being worn by the star Los Angeles Lakers player in his signature Triple White colourway during a trip to China. This was followed by unprecedented hype over Bruce Kilgore's revamped design. Released in 2016, it was available in several iconic Swoosh colours such as Multi-Color, Bred and Oreo. It was sold at a price of $110 for the Low versions and $175 for the High versions.
A trainer as popular with women as it is with men.
Although the essence of the model comes from famous male icons in sports or music, the shoe was quickly adopted by women, and the Nike teams understood this. The Triple White is now a staple in many women's wardrobes and is proving to be a popular unisex sneaker. To meet the high demand from female trainer lovers, the Swoosh brand will offer a multitude of revisited versions of the iconic model with ranges specially created for women, such as the Air Force 1 Shadow collection and the Air Force 1 Pixel collection. Feminine and colourful, these special models offer a trendy take on the retro model. From pastel colours to decorative jewels, everything is designed to meet the expectations of female sneakerheads!