Nike’s Most Questionable Air Force 1 Concepts

Bradley — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:55:47 +0000

Long Island stand up! To acknowledge this coming weekend’s Fourth of July holiday, and celebrate the mass exodus of New Yorkers to the beach, Nike created the the AIr Force 1 Premium “Jones Beach” Birch/Sail-Stone-Soft Blu SMU (Special Make Up). The sneaker goes on sale this coming Friday for $120 at Extra Butter NY, and looks dope, but come on guys. A Jones Beach Air Force 1? Seems like a bit of a stretch. There’s no relevant artist, no sneaker head, this is just a beach/music venue where you go to drink beer in the parking lot and listen to Steve Miller.

Nike AF1 special versions are usually tied to two things: artists who design the sneakers or athletes who are on Nike and are deserving of recognition. When Nike tries to spread the hype sauce beyond these ideas, they get a little WTF. In addition to the Jones Beach AF1, hit the jump to see our list of Air Force 1s that feature Questionable Marketing/Design Conceits…

SNEAKER: Nike Playstation Air Force
RELEASE: 2006 (didn’t actually come out, only VIPS)
• The (sneaker) and (video game) nerds went nuts over these, but video games + cool sneakers only mix if you’re 18 like Soulja Boy.

SNEAKER: Nike 1World Air Force 1 Ladainian Tomlinson
RELEASE: 2008
• We know LT was busy with the football season, but his half-assed effort on these was very apparent. “Yo, just color the swoosh light blue.” Done.

SNEAKER: Nike x VIBE Magazine Air Force 1
RELEASE: 2003
• It took more than a Air Force One to kill their Vibe, but this mash-up between the late great magazine and sneaker was a bit of a reacchhhh. Rappers not named Benzino probably loved it, though.

SNEAKER: Nike Air Force 1 “40/40 Club”
RELEASE: 2005
• Hov may be the greatest, but for the events you’d want to go to the 40/40 club for, you’re usually not allowed to wear sneakers. Perhaps a collabo with Body Tap would’ve made more sense.

SNEAKER: Nike Air Force 1 “Jones Beach”
RELEASE: 2009
• If the 40/40 and VIBE AF1s were a play to the hip-hop dem, this one is a play to the Long Island muscle heads. They’re dope, and we rep LI, but you have to admit. It’s kind of funny, right?

LaDainian Tomlinson Keeps His Air Force 1 Simple

Bradley — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:22:33 +0000

The Nike 1World project continues on through the fall, recruiting the Chargers’ All-Pro Running Back, Ladainian Tomlinson to follow in the footsteps of ?uestlove, KAWS, and Rasheed Wallace. Tomlinson is a busy man, lifting weights and scoring all those touchdowns, but he took the time to sit with the Nike shoe master Jesse Leyva, saying, “I just wanted to make something that was clean, you know, that I can wear with anything.”

Which is what we all look for in a $250 Air Force 1 that we camp out for a week to get. Check out the shoe, expected to drop at boutique retailers this September, below. NOTE: The lightning bolt might look like a Fragment/Hiroshi logo, but is in fact an “LT”. Shout out to the Chargers.

Complex Blog » Ladanian Tomlinson

Nike’s Most Questionable Air Force 1 Concepts

LaDainian Tomlinson Keeps His Air Force 1 Simple