Nigo just handed the Air Force 1 to a pop star, and it came back gold. Nike today revealed the Nike x Nigo x j-hope Air Force 1, the newest stop on Nigo's Air Force 1 World Tour, made with j-hope of BTS. It is glossy, loud in the best way, and it lands in nine days.
Who is behind it
If the names are new to you, here is the short version. Nigo is the Japanese designer who founded A Bathing Ape, better known as BAPE, in the 1990s, launched his second label, Human Made, in 2010, and is now artistic director of Kenzo, per the Design Museum in London, which just closed his first museum retrospective outside Japan. j-hope is one of the seven members of BTS, the South Korean group whose name stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or "Beyond the Scene," according to its label, BIGHIT MUSIC. If you caught our piece on RM's art collection at SFMOMA, this is the same crew showing up in a very different room.
The shoe
According to Nike's announcement, the upper is glossy leather in Burnt Sunrise and Metallic Gold, with Chlorine Blue accents and squirrel graphics that Nike says capture j-hope's energy. Nike calls the overall look hobicore. The base is the 2001 version of the Air Force 1, the slimmer, more vintage shape Nigo brought back for the whole tour.
j-hope's own pick is the finish. "I really like the harmony of the enamel material color that Nigo expressed," he says, and he points to the laces as a detail he hasn't seen often. In the official photos they are twisted and two-toned, and with that shine they look almost like candy wrappers. Nigo, for his part, calls j-hope "one of the few people who can become a true ambassador for culture and help carry it forward to the next generation."
Where it fits on the World Tour
This is the second shoe in the series. Nike and Nigo started it in April with the LO2 Air Force 1, a patent leather pair in Sail and Loyal Blue matched to the sign of NOWHERE, the Tokyo shop Nigo opened with his friend Jun Takahashi in the early 1990s. That one debuted at the Design Museum. Nike says future styles will keep drawing on Nigo's friends, influences and history, so the guest list is part of the story now.
Release date and how to get a pair
- October 17: exclusive launch at humanmade.jp, Nigo's Human Made web store.
- October 22: global launch on SNKRS, Nike's sneaker release app, and at select stores.
Nike hasn't listed a price in its announcement, so check SNKRS closer to the date. With two fan bases this big chasing one shoe, expect it to go fast, and skip resale listings that pop up before October 22. Our gifts for sneakerheads guide has better ideas than paying double.
Why it hits
Most celebrity sneakers are a name on a tongue. This one feels like a conversation: Nigo's 1990s Tokyo shine meeting a star he calls an ambassador for the next generation. Gold leather, a slimmer 2001 shape and a squirrel nobody asked for. We are in.
