Another week, another announcement that Virgil Abloh is collabing with Nike on a reimagined silhouette. It seems that Nike has given Abloh the “keys to the kingdom,” so to speak. At this point, he has been given free rein to design and redesign as many classic Nike sneakers as he chooses – even to the point that he’s going back and reworking a model he already reworked before.
Abloh’s New Off White Air Force 1
This time, Abloh put his quirky and creative take on the Air Force 1 Mid. With tweaks to the upper, lacing system, outsole, and even a visible AIR window in the heel, you have to give Abloh an “A” for effort on this new Off White Air Force 1. Though he already redid the AF1 Low almost five years ago when he dropped “The Ten,” this take is different in plenty of ways.
It got me thinking of my five most memorable Air Force 1 moments. Personally, the Air Force 1 is not one of my favorite Nike sneakers due to its bulkiness and plain design, but you cannot dispute the influence of this shoe on sneaker culture over the years. Here are some of the moments that have made this sneaker memorable to me over the years.
The Beginning
You can’t talk about the Air Force 1 without starting at the beginning. Back in 1983, this shoe was about as revolutionary as any sneaker in the history of sneakers. Featuring a full-grain leather upper, Spenco rearfoot padding to prevent heel slippage and blisters, a dipped achilles pad to prevent Achilles tendon irritation, and of course, a ¾ Air Sole unit which provided up to 30% more cushioning than conventional midsoles. This was the start of the modern-day basketball shoe. Without the Air Force 1, we wouldn’t have future Force basketball sneakers like one of my all-time favorites, the Air Force Max.
The Nelly Influence
“Give me two pairs, cause I need two pairs so I can get to stompin’ in my Air Force Ones,” went the lyrics to Nelly’s famous hit track in 2002. By this time, it felt like everyone really only needed two pairs of footwear: a pair of Timbs and a pair of crispy white Air Force Ones.
Twenty years ago, it didn’t necessarily matter how many pairs of sneakers you owned; it was about owning the right ones. And no one could argue that the Air Force 1 was a necessity in every wardrobe. The most popular of course was the all-white AF1, both in the mid-cut and the low. The jewel Swoosh AF1’s were also dope.
Rasheed Wallace
I grew up watching Sheed play basketball – from his time at UNC, to when he got drafted by the Bullets, to his championship run with the Pistons, and everything in between. I loved the attitude Sheed brought to the basketball court, including his pre-game dance routines with his teammates.
What I also loved was the fact that Sheed was so loyal to a sneaker. Nike made all kinds of sharp colorways of the Air Force 1 for him, because he loved balling in them so much. He even got his own logo on the side. From what I’ve heard, Sheed had a custom insole built in so that the shoe was lighter and more responsive. That’s really the only way he could keep up with everyone else hooping in sneakers way lighter than his.
The Air Jordan Fusions
2008-’09 was one of the weirdest eras for Nike basketball sneakers. Someone thought it would be a good idea to fuse classic Air Jordan sneakers with the Air Force 1 silhouette. I remember seeing people in NYC rocking these shoes and I can definitely say they stood out, for better or worse. Of course, the goal was to actually honor these classic silhouettes by blending them together into a hybrid. It all went terribly wrong, though. Perhaps the only model I kind of liked was the Air Jordan 12 hybrid.
The SF AF 1 series
I thought this was a brilliant idea when I first saw the SF AF1 back in November of 2016. I actually owned the “String” colorway, but they ran way too big so I had to get rid of them. They were also tough to wear, because they were built like combat boots so you had to tuck your pants into them, which was kind of weird. I got to meet Ben Kirschner once though – he was one of the guys who designed them. The good news was that his design was a hit, and everybody loved the new version. Sadly, Nike made way too many colorways, so they eventually started sitting on shelves in outlets.
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