Stylish sneakers—like that chunky Balenciaga creation seen on virtually every model these days, something sparkly and star-studded, or a crisp white pair like Victoria Beckham’s—have played a bigger part in the fashion dialogue in recent years, largely due to the rise of streetwear. But sneaker culture can feel like a boys’ club: The coolest drops inherently cater to men by only offering larger sizes, so female sneakerheads are often relegated to collecting, not wearing, the coveted kicks. (Plus, sneakers have long been a signifier of masculinity.) When, or even if, a hotly-desired pair of kicks eventually gets produced in smaller sizes for women, materials or key details are usually downgraded. So what might a collection of athletic, aesthetically-advanced trainers look like if an entirely female creative team was in charge? Nike decided to explore precisely that scenario.
Introduction the 1 Reimagined collection: 10 overhauls of a duo of O.G. Nike styles that’ve been essential players in sneaker culture for decades, courtesy of a women-only group of designers. “We looked at two of our most iconic shoes, the Nike Air Force 1 and the Air Jordan 1, which were designed by, and for, men,” Georgina James, Nike’s senior creative director of women’s footwear, tells Glamour.
The Air Force 1, launched in 1982, and Air Jordan 1, which dates back to 1985. (The latter has played a pivotal role in streetwear culture, too.) “We reimagined them through the lens of our female consumer,” James says. “We pulled a team together of 14 women, which consisted of color design, material design, and product design.” The color, material, and product design pros collaboratively tackled five different traits—explorer, jester, lover, rebel and sage—for each seminal shoe. There’s lots of fashion-y, #OOTD-worthy detailing: Think added height, lacing up the back instead of the front, and subtle proportional exaggerations. The collection ranges from $120 to $160 per pair, and will be available on February 7 at Nike.com and in Nike’s Soho location in NYC; on February 16, the 1 Reimagined collection will drop widely in Nike stores nationally.
“We designed this collection from start to finish in five weeks, which was incredibly quick,” explains Marie Crow, material design director of Nike Sportswear NikeWomen. From conception to launch, 1 Reimagined took around 10 months; by contrast, the creative timeline for a collection is typically at least two years long, she says. The design phase of just over a month was quick because working so collaboratively was markedly different from the standard creative process, per James and Crow.
Tackling this intriguing female-centric facelift on two of the biggest classic styles for the brand —and within the greater sneaker canon across companies—was more collaborative than most sneaker ideation and launch processes tend to be, James says: “I really wanted to make sure everyone was involved in the design process, so every designer on the team touched every shoe, instead of dishing out one shoe [to design] per person. We very much worked as a female collective, and I think it ultimately made the products stronger.”
Successfully taking a tried-and-true classic—especially ones that have been a part of the public imagination for so long—back to the drawing board and somehow improving things presented its own unique challenges, according to James. “On a few styles, it was more difficult and took more time to get the proportions just right; for the Air Force 1 Rebel XX’s cutouts to be the most beautiful, flattering shape on the foot took some time,” she says. The Sage versions for both the Air Jordans and Air Force 1s was trickier to execute as well. “The simplicity [of the Sage styles] means there’s nothing to hide; when you pare something back to be so minimal, every line and everything on that shoe has to be perfectly beautiful,” James adds.
The construction of a women’s sneaker is essentially the same as a men’s or unisex style, per James and Crow; but, unlike the creative process for most sneakers (which have historically catered to the male consumer) it was female customers that propelled the 1 Reimagined design process. “When we design for women, we understand that they love attention to detail,” Crow notes, referring specifically to the Lover styles in 1 Reimagined. “There’s iridescent material hidden underneath the shoe’s iconic perforation, so you get a nice discovery element and flashes of motion.” Proportion play was also key for the Lover iterations: “We pushed the design to the limit by creating a mule with raised collar height,” James says.
Nike has been doubling down on its women’s business for the past few years. Behind the scenes, that’s resulted in recently-created product and design teams devoted to Nike Women’s Running, Sportswear and Training, per James and Crow. (Both stress that being female sneaker designers hasn’t made it more difficult to succeed in the industry, though plenty of female designers and boutique owners in the sneaker space have been vocal about sexism in the business.) The company has honed in on women with innovations like the inaugural Flyknit bra and inclusion-minded launches like its first-ever hijab and plus sizing.
An all-women team, creating a legitimately female-focused sneaker collection, is a promising move for a powerhouse sportswear brand (and huge corporation) to make. It’s a hopeful sign for women who love sneakers, whether or not you’re a full-fledged sneaker head—and also, perhaps, women who design and sell sporty kicks. Check out the full array of revamps by and for women of the Jordans and Air Force 1s you know and love, ahead.
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