Virgil Abloh's Off-White x Air Jordan 1 collab has been named "Shoe of the Year" by Footwear News. Last year it was Rihanna's Puma Creeper that took home Shoe of the Year honors.
Virgil Abloh will be among those honored at the 31st annual 2017 FN Achievement Awards, which is set for next month in New York, and will pay tribute to the boldest and the brightest stars of the year.
“In the increasingly challenging and complicated times we live in, these trailblazers are thriving,” said Michael Atmore, editorial director of Footwear News. “Many have shaped the industry for decades. Others will help define our future.”
The extremely rare Off-White x Air Jordan 1 was one of the ten sneakers included in Abloh's "The Ten Collection," which featured a range of popular Nikes including the Air VaporMax, Nike Air Presto and Blazer Mid. The Off-White x Air Jordan 1 pre-released last month exclusively at NikeLab stores located in New York City, London, Milan and Paris and they're going for more than $2,000 on the resale market.
The kicks will also release once again on November 9th at NikeLab stores and select retailers worldwide.
Virgil was also recently selected as one of the few visionaries from around the world to collaborate on Nike's Air Force 1 Low in honor of the shoe's 35th anniversary. Speaking on that upcoming AF1 project, Abloh says (H/T Nike),
“It's all one expression. It's the Off-White ideology of altering product. That's my brand and my way of making things. I like to start with something established and then iterate on a process to edit it.
What I love about the three Air Force 1s I’ve worked on with Nike, so far, they encompass one idea executed in three different ways. With this one, the colorway is important. The Air Force 1 isn't iconic in just any color, they’re iconic in one: white. White is the theme for this third Air Force 1, looking at the cultural context of the white on white — editing it, but not editing it too far to where it becomes something else.”
In addition to the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 being named Shoe of the Year, Footwear News also announced KITH's Ronnie Fieg as "The Collaborator of the Year," specifically for his recent Kith x Nike Air Maestro II design.
You can check out Footwear News' full list of categories and winners right here.