ON THE DESIGNERS

Don C, Kareem “Biggs” Burke, Errolson Hugh, Travis Scott and Virgil Abloh all offered their distinct view of the icon. Here’s what they envisioned and how, together with Nike, they brought it to life.

HOW WERE THEY CHOSEN

Air Force 1 is one of those shoes that transcends gender and economic condition. There is no other shoe that can be connected to sport, music, fashion, art, street and the city all at the same time. The most ubiquitous of Air Force 1 is the white-white. We selected collaborators who are impacting future generations in those respective areas. The design process was a mixture of remaining classic and recognisable to Air Force 1 while connecting to their lives personally and the fields they represent. The shoe was authentic to these guys and we were open to the possibility to push the design further.

DESIGNER: DON C

Don C’s design tells the trilogy story of Air Force 1, 2 and 3. We worked together to design what elements of those three shoes should be incorporated where. The shoe has slight nods to both the two and the three. The medial side of the shoe was taken from the two and the heel from the three. It all rolled together nicely while still staying true to the classic Air Force 1 look. Don C is an aficionado in sneaker and basketball culture. He wanted to give the shoe a premium look and this comes through with the rolled edges and accents of gold.

Don C
Don C
Image: Supplied

DESIGNER: ROC-A-FELLA 

A classic in the world of sneaker culture, the shoe pays homage to the roots of where Air Force 1 came from. The design is inspired by the OG.

Roc-A-Fella
Roc-A-Fella
Image: Supplied

DESIGNER: ACRONYM

Errolson approached the shoe’s functionality and wanted to take the design to a new place. Staying true to the iconic white-white lens, he pushed the design radically forward with his interpretation.

Acronym
Acronym
Image: Supplied

DESIGNER: TRAVIS SCOTT

When we first met with Travis, the first thing he said which inspired the shoe was, ‘I’m the acid of rap.’ It was this notion of how do we 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 and at a different angle has many 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 the artwork for his label and the dubrae is comprised of Travis’ grill.

Travis Scott
Travis Scott
Image: Supplied

DESIGNER: VIRGIL ABLOH

We knew that he was going to have an Air Force 1 in the Ten, so the idea was to take the original leather Air Force 1s that he worked on with his first Nike project which were black, and flip them.

Virgil
Virgil
Image: Supplied
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