Taking it back to last year’s Air Max Day “Vote Forward” campaign, Nike invited a dozen creatives from all over the world — dubbed “Revolutionairs” — to Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon.
These artists, designers, DJs, and retailers were tasked with reimagining Nike Air Max styles; the Revolutionair’s shoe with the most votes will have his or her Nike Air model released.
The community picked Sean Wotherspoon’s Air Max 97 x Air Max 1 hybrid as the design they want materialized. Inspired by vintage Nike hats from the ’80s and features a multicolor corduroy Air Max 97 upper with intentionally unfinished edges to allow for fraying with wear. Its midsole is culled from Nike’s first Air Max sneaker, 1987’s Air Max 1.
Who is Sean Wotherspoon? – Sean Wotherspoon is a co-owner of Round Two, a vintage store that house vintage clothing – currently has two locations (in Richmond and Los Angeles).
“I wanted as many opinions as possible,” says Wotherspoon, a vintage store owner, of a group he assembled over pizza one night. “I tried to bring together people who represent different types of sneakerheads, collectors, consumers, and styles.” Wotherspoon had a friend sketching all the ideas being thrown out, including the addition of a mini Swoosh near the toe of the shoe — a “unanimous decision,” he says. Color-wise, the group started with brown and thought of colors that matched with it, including green and purple. In the end, Wotherspoon feels he was subconsciously inspired to go with more pastel colors to match his own uniform staple, a white T-shirt.
“One of my friends who works in the store said to me, ‘Dude, did you notice that your shoes match every white, vintage T-shirt?,’” recalls Wotherspoon. “Even though the group told me that pastel colors were too Easter-ey, I really wanted to utilize them, starting with the more muted yellow on top.” The colors were also inspired by vintage Nike sneakers and windbreakers from the ‘80s and ‘90s, notes Wotherspoon. A smiley face from a vintage “Have a Nike Day” T-shirt made it onto the shoe’s insoles, in addition to a wave patch on the left tongue. “When you put your shoes on, the first thing you want to see is a face smiling back at you, right?,” says Wotherspoon.
This unique spin on two all-time classics features an Air Max 97 upper drawing influence from vintage corduroy caps and apparel from the 1990s in a plethora of eye-catching colors, while the sole from the Air Max 1 ties together a truly unique looking shoe that should excite both new and old Air Max fans alike. Other notable details include Velcro tongue patches, multi-color swooshes around the upper, denim pull tabs on the tongue, while the back tabs feature an embroidered “VA to LA” (Virginia to Los Angeles) text.
Look out for the Nike x Sean Wotherspoon Air Max 1/97 VF SW to release on Saturday, 24 March 2018 at:
- Shesha (Sandton) – R 2399.95
- Anatomy (73 Juta Street, Braamfontein) in-store and online – R2399.00
- Shelflife (Joburg & Cape Town) via in-store live raffle at 9h30am and online raffle – R2399.00
So while you wait, check out images below:
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