Search

The 1 Reimagined: 14 Women Remix Iconic Nike Silhouettes

01.24.18 | By
The 1 Reimagined: 14 Women Remix Iconic Nike Silhouettes

The Nike 1 Reimagined is the sort of dream project every designer wishes will one day drop onto their desk (or inbox): an assignment revolving around reinterpreting an iconic design for modern times. In the case of sneakers, it doesn’t get any more storied and iconic than the Nike Air Force 1 and the Air Jordan 1.

New collections revolving around a classic style are nothing new. But in the case of the Nike 1 Reimagined collection, it’s both the individual participants and the sum of the team deserving notice: an all-female team of 14 designers selected from Nike’s internal design, materials, and colorists departments. Led by Nike Senior Footwear Creative Director Georgina James, two groups eventually coalesced around the two styles, with each reimagining both hoops-centric shoes well beyond the original silhouettes.

Given carte blanche for two weeks to deconstruct and reassemble to their imagination’s content, the designers of the 1 Reimagined project produced an interesting array of features in attempt to redraw the lines between athletic function and fashionable trends determined by/for women, imagining the eventual wearers as 5 archetypes – explorer, lover, sage, rebel and jester – and producing 10 shoes representing these personas:

AF1 SAGE XX: An elevated slip-on experience, pushed upward 12mm higher than the original AF1.

AF1 EXPLORER XX: Protective leathers, d-ring hardware and an external tongue. Plant detailing, not included.

AF1 JESTER XX: The Swoosh logo drops goes lowriding below the midsole here.

“The genesis of creativity is diversity. From a design point of view, each of the designers has a very unique background and personality. Our theory is that when you mix diverse creative talents you realize some magic.” – Nike Footwear Director Andy Caine

AF1 LOVER XX: Detailing includes velvet-lined mule with iridescent backed perforations.

AF1 REBEL XX: A corset lacing system at the heel flips the script on the classic basketball shoe style.

AF1 EXPLORER XX: A horizontally oriented lacing feature partnered with a medial zipper permit easy on/off wear.

AJ1 EXPLORER XX: An adjustable height design.

AJ1 LOVER XX: Sporting velvet lining with molded interior and angled collar.

AJ1 SAGE XX: A minimalist nod to a laceless aesthetic.

AJ1 JESTER XX: A zippered boot reintrepretation of the Air Jordan silhouette, complete with Jumpman logo zip pull.

The 1 Reimagined will be made first available on February 7 at select New York City retail locations, expanding to availability via the Nike SNKRS app on February 9.

 

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.