Nike Air Force 1 trainer

Famous car brands from Mini to Ferrari have endorsed various designs of trainers, some for a more stimulating connection with the accelerator (allegedly), others for their ability to pull admiring glances in chi-chi spots where ‘designer labels’ apparently matter.

But I’d like to draw your attention to one trainer that has classic car DNA and proper street cred secretly interwoven within it. Chances are that you already know the Nike Air Force 1. Hundreds of millions of pairs have been sold, in almost 2000 different colours and styles. By one estimate, it alone has pulled $28bn into Nike’s coffers.

Launched in 1982, it was designed by a young Bruce Kilgore. His chunky basketball shoe, inspired by hiking boots, featured the first use of a sealed air pocket in its sole for supreme cushioning when shooting hoops. It really was named after the US presidential airliner, with stars and stripes on the edges of its grippy tread.

This was some time before the AF-1 crossed over into NYC street culture at the axis of basketball and hip-hop. Kilgore assumed it would be replaced by new styles, and was amazed to find it still made five years later thanks to demand from sneaker cultists.

Kilgore still works for Nike, but back in 1982 he was simply an industrial designer for hire. And part of what brought him to Nike’s attention was his work in the car industry. He was a consultant to Chrysler when it needed to get its front-wheel-drive K-Car into production in double-quick time in 1981, and was part of the ‘skunk works’ team that helped GM rev up its Pontiac brand with the mid-engined Fiero of 1983.

AF-1s are very comfortable, don’t wear out and are so much more ‘classic’ than some overpriced semi-racing boots that say Porsche on the side…