The Air Force 1 Low started off Nike’s basketball sneaker dominance. The brand had never made a pure basketball performance sneaker before and the Air Force 1 was their ticket inside the niche. With time, however, it grew on people but in a way that they did not expect. Instead of becoming the greatest basketball sneakers, the Air Force 1 low became a fashion staple for people all around the world. Almost everyone in the US has owned a pair and their popularity is showing no signs of slowing down. This also inspires a slew of concept art such as this all-new Air Force 1 Low Midnight Arctic Pink!
Nike pushed its designers to build one of the greatest basketball shoes on the market with an Air Unit before they were introduced. Designers were inspired by the cult-favorite Nike Tailwind from several years ago, as well as the robust Nike Approach hiking boot, which provided the concept for the AF1’s rather thick sole pieces. To stress-test it, Bruce Kilgore sought Tinker Hatfield, a former Nike employee, and future design superstar. He was so taken aback that he switched from being an architect to becoming a great shoe designer, designing the Air Jordan 3 and many others after it. Such a great sneaker with paneling built for customization is bound to inspire concept art such as this Air Force 1 Low Midnight Arctic Pink.
The design features an interesting mix of color tones. Leather covers the upper, however, the hues are a mix of arctic pink and midnight navy. A pastel arctic pink covers the leather toes as well as the slightly perforated side panels and the heel overlays. The same hue appears on the perforated toe boxes that sit underneath leather eye stay panels. Pink throats blend right in and are enveloped by matching pink traditional laces. At the bottom of the laces, a small lace ornament in a Midnight Navy hue with “AF1” branding can be spotted.
Moving up, you’ll find matching pink tongues with contrasting Midnight Navy tongue tags as well as black “Nike” and “Air Force 1” branding. Sock liners too feature the same dark hue along with the interiors. Although we don’t have an angle, we can imagine matching Midnight Navy inserts with more black Nike branding. Heel tabs are also pink and likely feature additional embroidered branding while the side panels don dark blue leather Swooshes. Matching titular outsoles with “Air” branding and outsoles finish off the design. For more content such as this, stay tuned!