The Nike Air Force 1 was designed by Bruce Kilgore in 1982 and is the first basketball shoe to use Nike Air technology. The shoe got its name from the plane that carries the President of the United States of America, Air Force One. There are three different types of shoes, which are low, mid, and high, and they come in many different colors, textures, and patterns. This shoe is known for its two simplest styles, its black and white versions.
Since the first version was released, the Nike Air Force 1 now has more than 1,700 color variations, generating nearly $800 million in revenue for Nike. They were very popular with inner-city youth at first and gradually spread to hip-hop artists and then street ball players. The shoes were so famous both in the US and internationally, that in 2002, rappers Nelly and the St. Lunatics produced a single ‘Air Force Ones’ dedicated to the shoes. Adding to the Air Force 1 fashion is the City series, a pair of sneakers designed to represent Puerto Rico, New York City, Detroit, the West Indies and Tokyo. The shoes not only appeal to entertainers but also sports personalities who wear them to games, such as Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse. The Air Force One has obviously made its way into the footwear hall of fame.
In 1987, Nike released the Air Force 2, which is the latest variation of the original Air Force 1. Flat-soled and in many different color variations, the casual sneaker was relaunched internationally in the early 2000s and is made in low-cut or high-top styles. The shoe can be customized in any color, but typically has a white or black background color with the Nike Swoosh filled in with any color of choice. This also applies to the rear heel.
For the 25th anniversary of the original Air Force 1 in 2007, Nike created the Air Force XXV, drawing inspiration from the original Air Force 1 back when it was first introduced in 1982. Nike has produced several commercials as part of its massive campaign advertising that included various sports personalities such as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Parker, Jermaine O’Neal, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul and Paul Pierce, with the music of Juelz Santana (the Second advent). Since the success of designing footwear inspired by the sports personality Michael Jordan, Nike offers various styles inspired by celebrities and athletes such as Keelan Miller, Jay-Z, LeBron James, Rasheed Wallace, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and many others. This method has proven to be successful not only for Nike but also for personalities, as this means thousands and thousands of dollars in income in endorsement deals for the stars.
