In 1993, Nike made several changes in the shoe’s unique characteristic, the removable medallion that is placed at the bottom of the laces of its Air Force One Low. They transformed it from silver-
colored material to plastic and the shape has shifted from circular to a simpler rectangular shape. Furthermore, the newer editions of Air Force One s are even customizable with cushioning and
design to fit your needs and personal taste.
The Air Force One was produced in 1982 and discontinued the following year. It was re-released in 1986 with the modern italic Nike logo with a Swoosh on the bottom on the back of the shoe. Little has
changed to the Air Force One since its creation in 1982, although the original stitching on the side panels is no longer present in modern versions of the shoe. Since then, over 1,700 color
variations have been produced, bringing in an estimated 800 million USD/year in revenue. The selling of the Air Force One s online by certain retailers is prohibited by Nike who has restricted
supply of the sneaker.
Although Air Force One first generation was discontinued in production in 1983; in 1986 Nike relaunched the newer, fresher design of Air Force One . In 1987, Air Force started to launch newer
generation with Air Force 2 in 1987, Air Force 3 in 1988, Air Force 4 in 1989 and Air Force 5 in 1990, Air Force XXV in 2007 and the last one is Air Force 09 in 2009, each with its own unique
design, patterns and textures.
Air Force One s are available in shoe retailers that carries Nike apparels.
The Air Force One shoes have undergone several refreshed editions throughout the year since 1982-2009. Bruce Kilgore, the designer of Air Force One s would have never imagined that his creations
will be worn by basketball players and will have multiple refreshed editions, garnered 800 million USD per year in revenue, and to add extra cream on top, hip-hop sensation, Nelly, created the song
“Air Force One s” as a token of his love of this legendary product.
The name is a reference to Air Force One , the plane that carries the President of the United States. The shoes are sold in three different styles. The two most common are low-cut and mid-top. Nike
also produces a high-top model, which is usually harder to find. The mid-top and high-top Air Force One s come with a velcro-securable strap; the mid-top strap is secured to the shoe while the high-
tops strap is movable and removable. Although the shoe comes in many different colors and color schemes, the most common Air Force One s sold are solid white (often referred to as "white-on-white")
and solid black colors.
Nike Air Force One s were originally considered the favored shoe of inner-city youth, then hip hop artists and streetball players. Rapper Nelly and his group, St. Lunatics, collaborated on a 2002
single entitled "Air Force One s" about the shoes.As a performance shoe, the AF1 is still used for street play as well as for professional play.NBA players Jerry Stackhouse (who now wears Adidas)
and Rasheed Wallace have worn AF1s on court.
Another identifying characteristic of an Air Force One shoe is a small, removable medallion that is secured to the bottom of the laces but has holes on either side so it can be removed by sliding it
off of the shoe lace. The medallion is engraved with the inscription "AF-1", with the year "82" inscribed below it, and has historically been made out of a silver-colored metal (perhaps pewter).
Its original design was more circular, but after a redesign for the Air Force One s 25th anniversary in 2008 the medallion is now rectangular. (The redesign also involved encasing the inscription in
white plastic; that was discarded in favor of the original medallion material.)