Rumoured blue Off-White x Air Force 1
When the first images of a blue Off-White x Air Force 1 surfaced, with the unreleased model appearing on the feet of Virgil Abloh himself for a post on Instagram of him alongside photographer Juergen Teller much speculation began to breed on the internet as to its expected release. The general consensus settled on was that the new Off-White x Air Force 1 would release at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in a similar ilk to the black Air Force 1 Virgil Abloh release in conjunction with The Museum of Modern Art in NYC earlier in January 2019. That exclusive product at the time was designed to help celebrate fashion with MoMA with a co-branded Nike Elite basketball sock also featuring as a gift when purchasing the new model. It was natural for a design of similar composition such as the unreleased blue Off-White x Air Force 1 to be expected to follow the same trend, but since the initial on foot image was released, we have been fed new information that contradicts our first assumptions.
Nike Re-Creation Center
Virgil Abloh as ever is a busy man, but a master of spinning plates, alongside his landmark “FIGURES OF SPEECH” exhibition at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the designer continues to work in partnership with Nike, with the duo recently announcing a Re-Creation Center in Abloh’s home city. Described by Nike, the space looks to act as a “cultural hub” where Virgil’s youthful fanbase can be nurtured through a way of mentorship opportunities and hands-on workshops. Alongside this Nike will also be launching their “Reuse-a-Shoe” program using the space, which will transform worn-out athletic footwear into Nike Grind. A sustainable textile, which Nike has cultivated for over two decades, and will then be used to create new facilities like an Abloh-designed community basketball court set to open in Chicago ahead of NBA All-Star 2020.
Serena Williams x Air Force 1 ’07
Luckily for us, Virgil Abloh has also found time amongst all this work in the community to develop the aforementioned blue Off-White x Air Force 1 which he teased on Instagram, and as promised we have been gifted some more definitive information concerning the shoe. Despite the first assumptions that the silhouette would release at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago during the designers “FIGURES OF SPEECH” show. Those rumours have in fact since been rebuked with Nike stating the model will not be dropping at the museum. Initially made available exclusively to Serena Williams with a custom pair being inked by Virgil Abloh himself and posted on Instagram late last year with “For Serena Only” written in his usual quotation marks while “Air Williams” and “Virgil 2019” branding can also be found throughout. Is now seemingly going to be made available to the public very soon. Although the release date is still unclear, with official images surfacing and raffles beginning to pop up across the internet it appears it is imminent.
Official images of Off-White x MCA x Air Force 1 ’07
Official close-ups of the shoe confirm that Abloh’s latest design sports deconstructed elements around the upper, with tonal blue hues stretching across the entire shoe and Abloh’s signature quotation marks surrounding the “AIR” branding on the midsole. A bright red zip tie adds some sharp contrast, while the Swoosh retains the visible stitching seen on past models and follows a similar aesthetic make up to the black MoMA Air Force 1 Virgil Abloh created as unlike other Off-White x Mike models this shoe sports the same striking silver Swoosh at the MoMA Air Force 1. Make sure you keep an eye on NIKE SNKRS in the upcoming weeks to stay up to date on when the Off-White x Air Force 1 ’07 will be officially dropping, and if history is anything to go on, this shoe will be extremely limited and therefore particularly difficult to get hold of.
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