NIKE AIR FORCE 1, A TIMELESS CLASSIC
NIKE AIR FORCE 1, A TIMELESS CLASSIC
There Nike Air Force 1 is undoubtedly Nike's most iconic silhouette. This model is one of the first to use the soles equipped with the cushioning system Nike AIR , still new and revolutionary at the time of its release. It was also the first shoe of basketball equipped with this technology. Created by Bruce Kilgore in 1982, this pair is a clever mix of sobriety and technicality. With its immaculate white design, contrasted by a swoosh and a gray strap for the mid and high versions, its outsole is dressed in light gray tones. Legend has it that his style is inspired by Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Its name, meanwhile, 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 models in sneakers . Nike unveils the model and democratizes it in the 80s by associating it with the greatest basketball players of the time.
But after only two years on the market and an immediate success, the American equipment manufacturer decided to withdraw the famous pair from the market! This has the effect of creating a real wave of requests. Young people from the neighborhoods, in despair, try not without difficulty to bring their old pairs back to life... Thus the managers of shoe stores, noting the strong demand, begin to put pressure on the American equipment manufacturer so that copies of the model come out so acclaimed. The brand at swoosh ends up accepting on condition that the orders are substantial. The pairs will flow at incredible speed, creating a unique connection between the Air Force 1 and street youth.
A PAIR OF SNEAKERS 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 will completely explode.
It is the street culture and the explosion of rap in the 90s that will completely propel the pair to the rank of classic. She finds herself at the feet of the most influential rappers such as Jay Z , Kanye West , creator of the essential label Yeezy or Damon Dash who go crazy. For the anecdote the rapper Nelly fell in love with the model and to testify to his love, he dedicates a song in homage to the model entitled " Air Force Ones ". Likewise TI , rapper from Atlanta brings us a sound called " My Air Forces ". In the report of Thibaut de Longeville recently posted on the app Nike SNKRS , IT will even go so far as to say "that he wouldn't wear another model for anything in the world".
The model will even, in the following years, cross the Atlantic and establish itself in Europe with, in particular, as capital London and its new rappers who will spread the model and its values throughout the continent. Today declined on many occasions, as recently with the version Off-White Black , the Air Force 1 continues to write its history and confirms its status as an icon!
ICONIC AIR FORCE ONE COLLABORATIONS: OFF-WHITE, TRAVIS SCOTT, CLOT, PEACEMINUSONE
Nike Air Force 1 Low
Like always Nike attaches great importance to history, and the universe of its shoes. Marketed at $62.95 in 1983, a year after the launch of the High, it quickly became an emblematic product of Hip-Hop culture. Nicknamed the " Uptown " in the streets of New York, it quickly became an icon of the popular neighborhoods of the city due to its accessibility. 1984, two years after its release, Nike planned to stop production of the AF1, but thanks to enthusiastic enthusiasts of Baltimore and the "Color of the Month Club", a group of local retailers, the AF1 survived. Thus, the American firm gives the opportunity to artists, athletes, designers having grown up with the silhouette of rethinking models. Each collaboration is a real atmosphere, the art of the creator is sublimated. Over the years, emblematic collaborations have emerged. As part of his collection The Ten , the late Virgil Abloh , artistic director of the men's collections of the Louis Vuitton house, put his stamp on 10 emblematic models of the brand at the Swoosh to create the range Nike Off White . Among her, the Nike Air Force 1 Off-White . Playing on innovative materials as with a transparent fabric, Virgil Abloh brings an unstructured dimension with a swoosh and its zig zag seam. Available in 3 colors, White , Black and Volt , this sneaker is a must have highly sought after by sneaker fans. The most influential rapper on the planet, Travis Scott was also able to revisit the Nike Air Force 1 3 times. After working on two AF1 canvas White And sail At swoosh interchangeable, the Flame offered us a magnificent Nike AF1 Fossil . Playing on yokes of materials and patterns reminiscent of its universe, this sneaker thrilled basketball enthusiasts with its box stuffed with its details. A pair that once again ran out of stock very quickly like all those in the collection Nike Travis Scott . We can also mention the Hong Kong label of Edison Chen , Closing who offered us 4 colorways of his Nike Air Force 1 Clot with white, blue, black and recently pink. Featuring a satin upper, embroidered with the brand's motif, this sneakers consists of a print applied directly to the pair which is revealed once the fabric is removed. Extremely limited, this collaboration marked the year 2019. Finally, we can also talk about the Nike Air Force 1 Peacemisunone in collaboration with Korean artist G-DRAGON . The singer of K-pop revisits the classic in its own way with a floral print hidden under the uppers of the colors Black And White. This original and surprising edition managed to make a lot of noise and converted many people to Korean fashion. Nike continues to dazzle us with its collaborations and has succeeded in establishing the Nike Air Force One as the timeless classic model.
Nike Air Force 1 Mid
It wasn't until 1994 that Nike introduced a new iteration, the Air Force One Mid. In terms of design, it is considered a hybrid model and is located between the High and the Low with its mid-rise collar which covers the bottom of the ankle. It was unveiled during the Nike " City Attack " advertisement which highlighted the different branches of urban culture, notably embodied by Bobbito Garcia, DJ and streetball player who recently collaborated on an NFT shoe. The entire campaign nicknamed NYC is centered around the various activities present in the multiple neighborhoods of New York. The slogan was accompanied by a string of new products from the Beaverton brand such as the Jewel Swoosh, the Dunk Low "Flip The Old School" or the Nike Air Force 1 Mid Jewel which will introduce the NYC Logo. The latter will also be reissued in 2021. A real success on television, its influence will even go beyond the Atlantic and will seduce the European public in 1994 thanks to Foot Locker which is established in Paris and London. It was thanks to the Air Force One Mid that Europe became acquainted with the silhouette, more than ten years after its creation. The sneakers were so popular that in 1997 an " Independence Day " edition was born. Inspired by the "4th of July", the American national holiday which 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 emblematic is undoubtedly Riccardo Tisci , former artistic director of Givenchy and current DA 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
It was the first model to be unveiled in 1982 and was sold at $80. Its name is inspired by the famous plane used by the President of the United States and echoes the AIR technology hidden under the insole which will provide better cushioning for football players. basketball . This air bubble is a real innovation for the time. It marks the spirits thanks to the will of Nike to make believe that with this model, the amateurs of sneakers would be able to spectacular leaps . To promote the shoes, the Swoosh brand uses 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 exploit the model for two years and move on, but the shoe was so successful that three Baltimore -born store managers begged the supplier to supply them in AF1 in view of the cultural impact and the asks fans. It was then that the Beaverton firm imposed a minimum of 1,200 pairs sold for the three stores: Downtown Locker Room, Cinderella Shoes, and Charley Rudo's Sports. Men's and women's shoes are selling like hotcakes, and AF1 fans from all over the United States traveled all the way to Baltimore to pick up sneakers from the Color of the Month pack. The three managers of the emblematic shops have also been nicknamed the " Three Amigos ".
Today it is through the vision of Matthew Williams , artistic director of the Givenchy house, that the model is experiencing a revival. His label Alyx Studio has collaborated with Nike to offer us four Air Force One High equipped with premium full-grain leather including the Red and the Black . On the occasion of its 40th anniversary in 2022, the retro silhouette is being brought up to date with the Air Force One High Sculpt which takes up the OG codes of the shoe but without its emblematic strap at the ankle. It is available in White Silver and Gym Red colors.
Nike Air Force 1 Flyknit
In 2012, Nike launched the technology Flyknit , a material composed of strong and light threads that have been woven into an upper, providing good support for the athlete's foot on the shoe platform. It uses ultra-resistant fibers to create lightweight structures offering areas of support, elasticity and breathability like the Nike Flyknit Racer . It was not until 2015 and the legendary Kobe Bryant to see the first model of Nike Air Force 1 Flyknit worn by the emblematic player of the Los Angeles Lakers in his legendary Triple White color during a trip to China. This is followed by an unprecedented hype on the revisited design of Bruce Kilgore. Marketed in 2016, it is available in several emblematic colors of the Swoosh brand such as Multi-Color , Bred or Oreo . It will be sold at a price of $110 for the Low versions and $175 for the High versions.
A sneaker appreciated by both women and men.
Although the essence of the model comes from famous male icons in sport or music, the shoe was quickly adopted by the female gender and the Nike teams understood this well. The Triple White model is now an essential in many women's wardrobes and turns out to be a unisex sneaker. To meet the strong demand of sneaker 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 colorful, these special models offer a trendy look to the retro model. From pastel colors to decorative jewelry , everything is designed to meet the expectations of female sneakerheads!