Good day, Fashion Bombers!
Danielle here putting down the makeup brushes and lipsticks to take you way back to 1982 when the original Nike Air Force One (aka “uptowns”) first debuted.
In 1982, I was about a year old and the hip-hop scene was exploding from its origins in the late 1970s. Burgeoning hip-hoppers (or b-boys so I sound less corny) were defining what would now be seen as classic hip-hop style. Items like Kangols, tracksuits, and gold chains were becoming popular, and of course no outfit was complete without the shoes (“It’s gotta be the shoes!” © Lords of the Underground–”Chief Rocka”)
That same year, Nike designer Bruce Kilgore created “Air Force 1″ making it the first basketball shoe to use the Nike Air technology.
Throughout history the shoes have been remixed and updated. 1987 saw the introduction of Air Force 2; 1988 welcomed the Air Force 3 (the most popular of all versions); and Air Force STS (or Air Force 4) and Air Force 5 debuted in 1989 and 1990 respectively.
The allure of Air Force Ones was cemented by the legion of basketball stars who rocked the white-on-white sneakers that varied in style from low to mid to high tops and eventually came in over 1700 color variations. And of course, who can forget the catchy chorus of rapper Nelly’s ode to the 1s in 2002′s “Air Force Ones” :
“I said give me two pair/I need two pair/So I can get to stompin’ in my air force ones/Stompin’ in my air force ones ”
Great. Now the song is stuck in my head.
Sales of the sneakers have turned out to be a pretty, pretty good pay day for the folks at Nike. The sneaker alone generates an estimated $800 million USD in revenue each year. Yes, EIGHT HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS a year. In revenue. From sneakers. From one KIND of sneaker. Sheesh. Isn’t that the GDP of a small country?
Anyway, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the beloved kicks, Nike launched Air Force XXV in 2007. I’m not a sneaker-nista but can imagine someone getting stabbed while waiting in line for those. A commercial for the Air Force XXV included LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Parker, Jermaine O’Neal, Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, and music by rapper Juelz Santana.
While still riding on high revenues and our community’s love for sneakers, Nike debuted Air Force 09 last year.
Since Air Force Ones are highly customizable (I had a friend who once had a business that hand-painted custom designs on them), I want to hear how you rocked your 1s. Did you replace the laces? What did you rock them with? Bless me with those memories in the comments.
~Danielle
February 26, 2010 5:22 am
[...] Marjani Clarke wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptBlack History Fashion Trend: Air Force Ones. by Danielle. Good day, Fashion Bombers! Danielle here putting down the makeup brushes and lipsticks to take you way back to 1982 when the original Nike Air Force One (aka “uptowns”) first … [...]
February 26, 2010 6:16 am
[...] Black History Fashion Trend: Air Force Ones « The Fashion Bomb … Share and [...]
February 26, 2010 9:07 am
[...] See more here: Black History Fashion Trend: Air Force Ones « The Fashion Bomb … [...]
February 28, 2010 6:13 pm
lol kinda gruesome Claire “I’m not a sneaker-nista but can imagine someone getting stabbed while waiting in line for those. ” maybe “jumped” or not mention the hood mentality at all. That sentence just took me by surprise.
March 1, 2010 11:26 am
*So I can get to stompin in my Air Force Ones/Stompin in my Air Force Ones!* (aw damn, song stuck in my head now, too! lol)
March 5, 2010 8:06 pm
who’s the guy in the first pic?