In celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the iconic Nike Air Force 1, Nike has collaborated with visionaries from around the world to collaborate on the shoe’s defining colorway, white on white.
Among those chosen to experiment with the Nike Air Force 1 for the sneaker's 35th ann'y were Travis Scott, Don C, Kareem “Biggs” Burke (Rocafella), Errolson Hugh (Acronym), and Virgil Abloh (Off-White).
Senior Creative Director Nike Sportswear, Lead Designer Al Baik explained the significance of the project, per Nike,
“There is no other shoe that connects to sport, music, fashion, art, the street and the city all at the same time. The most ubiquitous Air Force 1 is the white-white. For the 35th anniversary, we selected collaborators who are impacting future generations across culture. Their brief was filtered through the white-white lens. The design brief was to remain classic and recognizable to the Air Force 1 while connecting to each collaborator’s life personally and the fields they represent.”
Each collaborator gave their own unique twist on the white-white Nike AF1. For example, Travis Scott wanted his sneaker to reflect the fact he is "the acid of rap."
“I looked at the making of this shoe the same way I make an album. I wanted it to tell a story about me. I set the tone to go crazy at my shows. I’m the acid of rap.”
Baik on how they incorporated that mindset in the Air Force 1 Low Travis Scott,
“When we first met with Travis, the first thing he said was, ‘I’m the acid of rap.’ It was a prompt to take a classic but then really trip it out. We brought this idea to life by making the binding around the canvas reflective, so when it hits light, it reflects various colors.
At first glance, it’s seemingly one color, but at a different angle, it has layers and depth to it. To mix up the look, the swoosh is Velcro and comes with three different articulations of the Swoosh. Customizable patches are based on his label artwork, and the dubrae is comprised of Travis’ grill.”
The AF100 Collection retails through SNKRS and key Nike retailers at the following dates:
Air Force 1 ’07 Off White: November 4 (only available at Complex Con)
Air Force 1 ’07 Roc-A-Fella: November 30
Air Force 1 Hi Just Don: December 1
Air Force 1 Low Travis Scott: December 2
Lunar Force 1/Acronym ’17: December 3
You can check out each of the AF1 collabs in the gallery above, and the full breakdown of each design right here.
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