Nike is celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Air Force 1—one of the shoes that helped form sneaker culture since it first released in 1982.

Back in the 80’s, Bruce Kilgore designed his first basketball shoe and introduced Air on a basketball court with the debut of the Nike Air Force 1.

It was initially built in the US and was the first slip-lasted Nike shoe, a construction method wherein the upper is pulled over the last and then attached to the midsole. The silhouette was tested by college players and made famous by some of the NBA’s top players.

There are more than 2,000 different iterations of the Air Force 1, from high to low and everything in between, but its most famous form is the unequivocal white-on-white.

NIKE maker’s studio at Sole DXB 2017

The Air Force 1 has served as a canvas for artist and designers, and as a result, it has become a global street culture standard. To celebrate its 35th anniversary, Nike brought the “Maker’s Studio” to Sole DXB this year.

Throughout the weekend (December 8 and 9), Nike offered consumers the opportunity to sign up to “Master Classes” with global and local collaborators and artists. At these sessions, consumers were able to customize pairs of white-white Air Force 1s with a number of options, including dip dyeing, air-brushing and reconstructing.

The sessions were led by streetwear pioneer Don C, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella records Kareem BIGGS, Bunyamin Aydin, founder and creative director of Les Benjamins and Dubai-based artist and illustrator Rami Afifi.

During Sole DXB, Nike launched for the first time in the UAE, AF-100 designs including Air Force 1 ’07 Roc-A-Fella, Air Force 1 Hi Just Don, Lunar Force 1/Acronym and Air Force 1 Low Travis Scott. – TradeArabia News Service