The time between the AF1's 1986 reissue and the early 1990s reworking of the shoe’s design to eliminate its mesh side panels is so shoddily documented.
But when exactly the white Air Force 1 Low was first released remains something of an enigma. Crispy like white Reeboks - a popular hustler shoe in certain NYC boroughs, back when such stylistic divisions were a thing - the white on white colorway let the ageless look of Kilgore’s creation speak. But without its initial inner city fan base keeping it alive, the Force would most likely be little more than a shoe praised by true connoisseurs and historians but forgotten by everyone else. The subsequent gentrification of urban sneaker culture gives the impression that the AF1 is a people's shoe that transcends race, gender, and class. Footwear prices may have recruited a fair share of soldiers, and those soldiers in turn helped birth even more sneaker fanaticism. Dealers’ pristine shoes, ostentatious automobiles, and oversized jewelry set a new standard of aspiration - one that required the kind of money that only the fast life seemed to provide.
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As a result of the crack epidemic that tore apart East Coast inner cities from roughly 1984 to 1993, there was plenty of expendable dough to be spent. Rarely spotted makeups could be acquired by those in the know from fabled stores like Troop co-founder Teddy Held’s long-defunct spot in the South Bronx, nicknamed “Jew Man.”īig brands don’t acknowledge it openly, drug dealers and hustlers were the true style influencers of their era. Phased out shortly afterwards, the AF1 returned around 1986 to select East Coast stores (with a slightly altered shape complete with more regional exclusives). Those exclusives turned the city into a destination for Forces footwear tourism along Interstate 95 brought the sneaker’s cult status to D.C. But the model lengthened its lifeline thanks to an extended collection of different colors, a byproduct of a “color of the month” initiative pushed by a cartel of Baltimore retailers (Charley Rudo, Downtown Locker Room, and Cinderella Shoes) making ambitious orders for special makeups. Nike’s initial intent was to shelve the AF1 in favor of the next style, the next technology. Inevitably, bolder, team-color Forces would follow-as would a low-cut, making the Air Force 1 an even more popular choice when it hit retail on a wider scale in 1983. The neutral white and grey palette was one of the only parts of the shoe that played it safe. On its 1982 introduction to the court, Nike designer Bruce Kilgore’s creation, initially only available as a high top, was striking for its hiking-boot-inspired cues and uniquely chunky sole-it was the first Nike Air cushioning on a hoops shoe. The hyped-up collaborations and limited-run collectibles may have given the AF1 a covetable level of prestige and helped spread its gospel to new generations, but the monotone makeups, particularly the white-on-white, have been the ones keeping the lights on at most sneaker shops over the years. A decade ago, sporting-goods analyst Matt Powell told the New York Times that the shoe sold an estimated 12 million pairs in 2005 alone, more than two decades after its debut the sneaker is still Nike’s second bestseller a decade later, according to Powell. The white Air Force 1 Low is one of the bestselling shoes of all time. One rare example of such sneakers that cross over into both worlds is the Nike Air Force 1 in its most popular, iconic style: low-cut, in all-white. For Nike, the shoes that sell shareholder-pleasing units tend to be white leather shoes l ike the dad-friendly Air Monarch line-ones that cool kids and connoisseurs hate. They’re consistently worn by both footwear enthusiasts and the general public. The ones that do are the true classics-the trends that graduate to staples. You can always change your preference by visiting 'Cookie Settings' at the bottom of the page.In the world of sneakers, few styles last. Blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. Because we respect your right to privacy, optional cookies are not set unless you enable them. We would like to set optional cookies to give you a better user experience and to assist us in understanding how visitors use our site. We use Strictly Necessary cookies to make our website work. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience.
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