Whilst also being an underground essential, the universally acclaimed silhouette has roots in hip-hop and street culture rather than the punk-staple Docs i covered last week. Being one of the highest selling athletic shoes of all time, with over 2000 different designs, everyone and their aunty owns or has owned a pair of Air Force Ones. The ever so classic Nikes clearly aren’t going anywhere. But how has a trainer so saturated remained so understated in modern times? And why did we all come to own them in the first place?
photo credit: Nike
When tracing the growth of something so seminal, it’s important to look at what predated its birth. In this case it was an intense need for comfortable yet playable basketball trainers in the early 80s. It was Bruce Kilgores vision, initially a product designer, who creatively masterminded the shoe. After working on highly successful track spikes for Nike, he then moved onto the brand-new concept of an air basketball shoe. Nike had already utilized air technology with the 1979 Tailwind running shoes, but the first air basketball shoe wasn’t going so smooth pre-Kilgore. With him even saying “but it wasn’t moving in a positive direction. The shoe as I recalled it looked like the Michelin Man. They were really poochy, and the sidewalls…it wasn’t something that you could play basketball in. You could stick an airsole in it and say yes, it’s got a basketball silhouette, but to be able to play a game in the shoe, it wasn’t that. So I kind of took that project over.”
Thus, came the Nike Air Force 1, from humble origins, never intending to become a cultural talking point. Through Kilgores minimalistic approach however, a revolutionary high-top air basketball shoe had been created. Which would later grow far beyond the sport it had been created for.
The shoe came out in 1982 with Nike signing six NBA stars to promote the shoe on hardwood. The “Original Six” being Moses Malone and Bobby Jones (Philadelphia 76ers), Michael Cooper and Jamal Wilkes (L.A. Lakers) plus Calvin Natt and Mychal Thompson (Portland Trail Blazers). With there even being a promotional poster of them all standing on an airfield; paying homage to the presidential aircraft it was named after. When it comes to the growth and success of the shoes, Moses Malone is an especially important name to mention. After successive loses, Moses Malone, sporting fresh Air Force Ones helped Philadelphia take the NBA championship home in 1983. The shoe then became the “sneaker of the times” especially to Philadelphians who, whilst being about basketball culture, had a newfound special sentiment towards it.
The Forces, along with the lows released in 1983, quickly became an integral part to inner city culture on the East side of America. Where kids in Baltimore were looking to buy the shoes even after its initial run that ended in 1984. This was unheard of as trainers would generally have a two or three year run before the next came out and attention was averted. It was then Charley Rudo Sports, Downtown Locker Room and Cinderella shoes, all in Baltimore, who had meetings with Nike about bringing the shoes back exclusively to their stores. Despite being considered an insane idea at the time, Nike agreed and resurrected the shoe for the three stores only. Which then sold right out, allowing them to then do a color of the month program with Nike. New ground was being created with the Air Forces without any advertising. Word then started to spread, bringing people down from Philadelphia and New York to join the hype.
Air forces started spilling off the court and into the closest nearby culture, with that being early Hip hop. Once the trainers were officially re-released in 1986, being the first ever retro’d pair, they already had a solidified image within culture and its own inner-city subculture. Because of their exclusivity and the simple fact that they looked good on feet, the so called “cool street cats” would be wearing them. When seen off-court they were only seen on the likes of the freshest drug dealers/hustlers and the most flexed up kids at the time, pre “clout” so you know it’s real. With the iconic leather white on whites coming out early to mid-90s, more popular figures started to be seen in them and even name drop them in hip hop tracks. By the late 90s the af1’s influence and popularity grew out of the cities, especially Harlem, that kept it alive, just like hip-hop, as a growing cultural force.
After being seen on the likes of: The Diplomats, Jay-Z, Lord Finesse, Kobe Bryant, Dame Dash and a plethora of other early Hip-Hop figures, its impact was unquestionable and it already had an undeniable place in Hip-Hop history. One of the more significant early mentions could be Nelly’s track “Air Force Ones” ft. Kyjuan, Ali and Murphy Lee. Moments like these gave the Af1s global visibility and a worldwide presence in the absence of any promotion by Nike. It was only after this in the 2000s where Nike caught on to the phenomenon and started working with rappers letting it all take-off. And not before long they were being seen on the worlds biggest pop stars. Drake even sported them in his “Started From The Bottom” video which turned out to be one of the most successful and well received songs of 2013.
photo credit: Yung Lean
A sign perhaps of its everlasting and worldwide importance is that the shoes are still being referenced by more modern artists far beyond its origins. With wave creating Swedish cloud rapper, Yung Lean, dedicating a track to them with “af1s” featuring Drain Gangs very own Ecco2k. Plus A few years ago with “It G Ma”, Keith Ape brought us our first breakout, overseas trap hit. Despite its lack of English, everyone was playing it. One stand out line however, in the universal language of street wear, was Kohhs “AIR FORCEE ONE” in the final verse. Only two examples, yet they perfectly depict the global relevance of the basketball shoe. Just as its global influence is also shown through the Bapestas, built from the template in a far from subtle way. The brand A Bathing Ape then used it as an opportunity to create far more exciting color concepts.
photo credit: Nike x Off White
The simple design and minimalist silhouette, that consequently lent itself to Nigos interpretation, allows not only for endless collaborations but also DIY customization. Some of the more recent and more popular collaborations include: Supreme, Acronym, Off-White and Commes Des Garcons. For those not so willing to pay the steep prices or maybe just a little more creative: pins, patches and even permanent markers have created bounds of one-of-one pieces. Being able to take your own approach to something so classic is why the Air Force One is going nowhere.