Nike Tasks All-Female Team To Rethink The Iconic Air Force 1 & Air Jordan 1

The Nike Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1 are two of the most recognized silhouettes in sneaker history. Now, a group of all-female Nike designers, dubbed “The 1 Reimagined,” have come together to rethink the legendary basketball shoes for the first time.

The 14 women behind the project bring together distinct skill sets, including colorists, materials specialists and men's and women's mainline footwear designers. The idea: To establish five new iterations of both icons, beyond design constraints. The brief: “Make some cool shit,” in just two weeks from brief to final design.

Describing why he picked the participants, Nike Footwear Director Andy Caine says, “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.”

The team started by pulling and grouping imagery, trying to define what makes a woman, whilst considering the crossover points between athleisure and fashion trends. The sneakers were originally designed by men, for men, opening the question, what would women do differently? The preparation culminated in five pronounced personae: explorer, lover, sage, rebel and jester.

Working out of the “fashion hub” of London, the group got to work on the execution. “It was luxury to work on one project for one week and not think about anything else,” says Georgina James, Senior Footwear Creative Director, while Marie Crow, Materials Design Director, notes that the location was “exciting” as it allowed observation of how people “were wearing sneakers, styling them and, ultimately, what was relevant.”

Within the groups, members naturally gravitated to individual archetypes, leading the styling of the sneakers. “We soon realized that the silhouette had to be the headliner. Color and materials had to be complimentary and boldly wearable. So we looked at different blockings and different details that we could accentuate,” says Crow.

Incredibly, in just four days, the ten sneakers were designed, achieving a number of firsts: the tallest stack height ever on an AF1 (12mm) for the AF1 LOVER XX and AF1 SAGE XX; the first AF1 Mule in the AF1 LOVER XX; and a progressive back-to-front construction, complete with corset lacing, on the AF1 REBEL XX.

Flick through the gallery above to check out the full collection. The sneakers are set to release on February 7.

In other news, the YEEZY Wave Runner 700 is set to re-release globally.