For our latest sneaker concept, we have taken the Air Force 1 and dressed it in a simple, but classic colorway, with a small twist. Whilst in terms of colors we have decided to go the traditional route, we have chosen to add a dragon decal, hence our concept’s name, to give the shoe a new identity. Check out how it went above and read more about our thought process below.
Our sneaker concept is made up of a nubuck upper, with the toe box and midfoot panel dressed in red, and the mudguard and paneling around the ankle coated in black. White details are present on the Nike Swoosh on the sides of the shoe, as well as around the eyestay. The tongue and laces then come in black, with the tongue tag, heel tab, and deubré in red. The sole is no different from the upper, with the midsole coated in black, and the outsole covered completely in white.
We chose three very often used colors, red, white, and black, best known from the Air Jordan 1 Chicago, to put on our Air Force 1. Although coming out only three years before the Air Jordan 1 and featuring very similar paneling, the Chicago colors look much less familiar on the Air Force 1, and we have lent into this by messing around with the color placement, such as dressing some of the main panels in black rather than saving it for just the details. In doing so, our concept keeps its own identity, rather than looking too alike other red, white, and black shoes, whilst still taking advantage of the same colors.
We have seen a similar dragon-inspired design on many shoes over the years, often linked to celebrating the Chinese New Year, but the one that stands out to us is the Air Jordan 7 Retro “China” that featured a similar dragon design across the upper. Whilst that shoe featured a colored design on the medial side of the shoe, we wanted to keep to our original color scheme, just adding the black outlining of our pattern over a red background. Our design’s position on the shoe, sitting behind the swoosh, also draws your attention to the side of the shoe, and to the white Nike branding that stands out atop a dark background.
