With an estimated 773 Sneaker styles in Nike’s repertoire, there are many to consider. We asked friends of the brand attending Nike on Air in Paris to name their shoe of choice.
Sam Kerr – Footballer
“My favourite shoe of all time is the Air Force One, I have all the colours. With my knee at the moment, I am wearing the Air Max’s a lot because they feel better, but the Air Force Ones - for me they are the ones. You can dress them up or down, I just love the silhouette. I think I have probably got 100 pairs of these over time. Once they get beat up, new pair. I always have these in my apartment”.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson – Fashion Editor, Stylist
“I was going to say something else, but, no. It’s got to be the Cortez. Black leather, white Swoosh.”
Marley Dias – Activist, Writer
“It’s got to be the Uptempo in denim, the Scottie Pippen favourite. I will never forget wearing them and him coming over to me, giving me the seal of approval.”
Futura – Artist
“You want the truth? The Paris Dunk. Shoutout to Mr Buffett and his artwork. That was... 2003... maybe they were released? Love that shoe. Don’t own one. Creatively I think, super ahead of its time, and stands as one of the nicest shoes, certainly in an SB silhouette.”
John R. Hoke, III – Chief Design Officer at Nike
“I have many favourites. But a personal favourite is the Air Max 270, with the pink Air bag. That shoe was able to crossover and become an important cultural shoe. Another personal favourite is the Vaporfly. It was revolutionary, it had no foam. It was just a Flyknit upper sitting on this cushioning Air bag system. A lot of challenges mechanically, to manufacture that. But I feel it’s one of our best shoes. It’s very simple, beautifully cushioned and one of the ones I still wear.”
Laura Kechichian & Poupie – Founders of Instagram account @Icanplay__, celebrating the best of Women’s Basketball
Poupie: “For me, Air Jordan 1 Zoom. In red. The Teyana Taylor one. When she wore it, I had to have it. I love her.”
Laura Kechichian: “I love the Jordan X1 in grey”.
Tanya Hvizdak – VP, Women’s Global Sports Marketing at Nike
“I do love the Blazer, I love Virgil [Abloh]’s Blazer. That is one of my absolute favourites and I am going to continue to stick with it.”
Clint 419 – Founder, Corteiz
“Mine is the Nike Air Max ‘98. In the OG colour. That one forever.”
Chloe Covell – Skateboarder
“I just like Dunks in general. Off the board and on the board, they feel really good. Super comfortable. They feel good to skate in”.
Juliana Sagat – Lead Footwear Designer, Lifestyle / Collaboration at Nike
“My favourite of all time is the Air Jordan 1997/ 1998. I remember loving it from when I was a kid.”
On her favourite project working with Nike...
“My first project, I was so excited... and I couldn’t believe that I had created sneakers for Nike – all my sketches, and putting in the Swoosh, I was like “Is it real?” … It was the Air Max Furyosa. It was my first time working with Air, innovating, trying to combine different systems to unlock a new experience.”
Sebastian Bugeja-Drinkell – Writer: Sneaker Freaker
“When I was a young kid who worked at La Porchetta, a family style Italian restaurant. I spotted an old man wearing the wildest silver shoes I’d ever seen. I offered him my whole paycheck for the sneakers off his feet. It was a super weird thing to do, so he understandably declined. I later found out they were the AM97 ‘Silver Bullets’ and today I have a pair of my own.”
Julian Spence - Runner, Coach, host: Inside Running Podcast
“My favourite Nike shoe of all time is the Nike Flyknit Racer. They released it for the 2012 Olympics. It’s since become a lifestyle shoe. It was the first time they used Flyknit.”
Tony Bignell – Vice President of Men's Sport Performance Footwear at Nike
“I’m going to be cheesy but I’m going to say the Pegasus Premium. There’ll be a few pairs coming out around the Olympics later this year, then more in Spring.”
