Air Force 1: The Sole of the City
NIGEL ZWEIBROCK/THE OBSERVER
There’s one shoe that rules Fordham Lincoln Center: Nike’s Air Force 1.
March 31, 2019
Of the Fordham campuses, Lincoln Center is by far the most fashion-forward. You can’t walk to class without spotting someone rocking labels from head to toe. The hypebeasts wear Balenciaga and Supreme, the hipsters wear Carhartt and Noah and the Chads wear Vineyard Vines, Patagonia and Sperry. But one article of clothing transcends cliques and is shared by everyone on campus and in the city alike: the Nike Air Force 1.
The Air Force 1 first hit the market in 1982, named after the presidential airplane. Designed by Bruce Kilgore, the Air Force 1 came in three styles: high, mid and low, low being the most popular of the three. Though air bubble technology cannot be seen like on the Nike Air Maxes, the Air Force 1 was the first shoe to use it. They come in numerous different colorways and materials; however, classic white on white leather is by far the most common.
Nike has collaborated with countless artists, designers and brands on the Air Force 1 with new designs coming out almost weekly. Some of the more famous collabs have been with Supreme, Off-White, Andy Warhol and Travis Scott.
Going to public school in Maryland, I could count all the kids I knew with a pair of Air Force 1s on one hand. Once I moved to the city, though, I found you cannot throw a stone without scuffing someone’s fresh Air Force 1s. They’re ubiquitous.
Fordham students agreed that Air Force 1s are timeless and comfortable.
Grace Munson, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’22, went as far as to call them the most comfortable pair of shoes she owns.
Samer Sabbour, FCLC ’22, said he likes them because they’re a “solid, all-around utility shoe that you can do anything in.”
Mateo Prada, FCLC ’22, said he loves how you can “dress them up or down.”
Love them or hate them, the Air Force 1 has become a staple of New York fashion that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Every year, the Air Force 1 continues to be among Nike’s top-selling shoe models, and new collabs and colorways rope in more customers with every drop. If you don’t already have a pair, what are you waiting for?
