Nike Air Force 1 History – The Making of a Classic!

Today, we’re gonna go down memory lane with an international sneakerhead classic shoe. It’s not every day that a silhouette survives for more than 40 years, let alone thrives for that long. This Nike Air Force 1 history recap will tell you how the silhouette reached that level of popularity. So, are you ready to find out why your favorite pair of beaters is your favorite pair of beaters? Let’s find that out and more with this fun recap!

Nike Air Force 1 – Stats

Before we get into the exciting Nike Air Force 1 history, we’ll give you a little rundown of the silhouette’s stats. First off, Nike launched the AF1 back in 1982, and it was no simple feat! It was the first basketball shoe to feature Air cushioning. And if you know anything about sneaker tech, then you know what a big deal that was back then. Today, there are more than 5,000 AF1 colorways and iterations. Kinda explains why the yearly number of sold pairs is approximately 10 million. Oh, and the silhouette generates about $800M/year for the Swoosh!

Nike Air Force 1 History Through the Years

1982 – 1983

The year is 1982, and Nike is trying to break into basketball territory and make a name for itself. There was no Michael Jordan to change the course of the industry yet. However, Bruce Kilgore was there, and he certainly made history before the Jordan legacy rolled around. Anyway, in 1982 the sneakers came out in high-top. And in 1983, Nike introduced the low-top along with the general release of the Air Force 1.

1984

The marketing campaign featured 6 iconic NBA stars of the era: Michael Cooper, Moses Malone, Calvin Natt, Jamal Wilkes, Bobby Jones, and Mychael Thompson. And the original colorways, fittingly called “The Original Six” featured each player’s respective team color on the AF1. However, in 1984, Nike was gonna pull the plug on the silhouette. And it would have if it wasn’t for three sneaker shops in Baltimore: Charley Rudo, Cinderella Shoes, and Downtown Locker Room.

They reached out to Nike and ordered special colorways to sell in the shops. And this is possibly how collaborations and regional releases started out. Who’d think that something as mainstream as that was once a groundbreaking move? Anyway, this move led to the “Color of the Month” drops that brought the Air Force 1 back into the sneaker map thanks to the 3 Amigos! Oh, and with Nike briefly discontinuing the silhouette and then reintroducing it, it became the first shoe to be retroed.

1988

Although it’s not the exact year the industry blew up, it’s the year that the AF1 and Hip-Hop met. How? E-Z Rock wore the kicks on the cover of his album It Takes Two.

1994 – 2001

In 1994, Nike decided to drop the Air Force 1 Mid to cater to women. Or people who wanna rock the highs but not really. However, the new millennium came, and the first Air Force 1 in women sizing dropped in 2001!

2002

If 1988 was the first time AF1s met Hip-Hop, then 2002 is when they became a staple there. This is thanks to Nelly’s “Air Force Ones” that he dropped that year. Personal note: this song is a cultural reset for those who know.

Beyond the Nike Air Force 1 History

Up until the beginning of the 2000s, it was a roller coaster for the silhouette. However, once Air Force 1s cemented their status in the industry and culture, the rest was history. In 2010, Nike started experimenting with new materials for the upper like knit uppers, patent leather, canvas, and more. And well, when the silhouette is popular, you can’t really mess it up too badly.

In 2017, the Swoosh celebrated the silhouette’s 35th anniversary with the AF-100 collection. That collection included five white-on-white collabs with Don C, Travis Scott, Virgil Abloh, ACRONYM, and Roc-A-Fella. This was not the last time we saw amazing collaborations though. Thanks to its versatility, the Nike Air Force 1 history is rich with collabs that range all the way from streetwear to luxury brands!

Today, in 2023, the sneaker industry is still as in love with the silhouette as it was 30 and 40 years ago. And the coolest thing about that is that it doesn’t even need any ad campaigns to be popular. It just is.

If you wanna learn more about other silhouettes, their backstories, and upcoming sneaker releases, check our blog out! And if you’re looking to learn about sneaker botting, we also gotchu. You can also keep an eye on our Twitter account @NSB_Bot for the latest tech news. Godspeed!