Nike recently treated sneaker fans to the Air Raid Jungle Gym from 1993 (which we covered here at Sneakerjawns), and now we're getting the 2014 remake. The Air Raid brand has been building some steam this year with the Air Raid Low, Air Raid Jungle Gym, and Air Raid OG, and notably the Nike Air Max 1 featuring in the Live Together Play Together Pack with a Jungle Gym colorway. On top of that, the 90s silhouette is getting releases at the beginning of the year with the Air Raid 2014 remake and the Air Raid Ray Guns. The old silhouette is getting some attention from their makers, that is Nike, to give more variations to the classic style. The Nike Air Raid has much lore to it, designed by Tinker Hatfield as an outdoor counterpart to the Air Jordans, featured in commercials with Spike Lee, hence the Live Together Play Together ethos. The 2014 Black and White Air Raid is not as colorful as the jungle gym, but style doesn't always come with flare. Let's ...
Sneakers these days are pushing the boundaries of innovation, putting more control into the wearer's hands. DIY shoes are releasing more frequently with customizable options never before in the history of sneakers. The Nike Air Force 1/1 releasing December 17th is one such sneaker showing ingenuity. It offers dismantling options, shedding pieces revealing adhesive fabric beneath.
We have seen the use of stick on parts in shoes in the last couple of years. Nike has been the main proponent of this type of DIY shoes, but they have never designed any customizable adhesive fabric sneakers to this degree. In this latest project the whole kit is customizable while in previous versions the options were limited to patches and parts. Nike's Air Force 1/1 really shows how they're moving the silhouette forward and thinking of new ideas to keep the famed kicks fresh.
The Air Force 1 seems to be their main source of experimentation with adhesive fabric, and we have seen this year adding stick on embellishments before going all out with this version. Nike's Air Force 1 creativity wasn't limited this year to stick on parts, but some interesting conceptions were available to us.
In case you missed it, there was the Nike Air Force 1 Low Pendleton which still allows you to customize the sneaker with four options of wool, the ability to choose where it will be, whether on the vamp, tongue, quarter, tip, eye stay, foxing, backstay, back tab, swoosh, and change any part to solid colors. If you want to try your hand at the mix and match options here's a link. Nike Air Fore 1 Pendleton
The Nike Air Force 1/1 is its own beast, and unlike the Pendleton, you don't need software to change it up, but there would have been more options if Nike released colored and patterned stick ons for them. Probably then it would match the Pendleton in terms of customizability.
As for now, the Nike Air Force 1/1 only comes in white with the black adhesive layer beneath. So changing the look comes from revealing the black underneath for a black/white effect. The box comes with interchangeable parts to give some orange color to the mix. Only the heel, swoosh, tongue patch can be interchanged, though the vamp and side panels can be removed also.
There was an early limited release of the sneakers this December at Tokyo Comic Con, with interchangeable parts having beef-like colored patterns referencing wagyu, a premium meat in Japan. This makes us believe we may get more pattered stick ons in the future to further customize the Air Force 1/1.
The sneakers will be released December 17th at $140 in adult sizes and $100 in grade school sizes.
