Best Air Force 1s Of All Time

In 1982, Nike designer Bruce Kilgore created the Air Force 1. Everything about the design was bold. Its hiking boot-style silhouette, canvas ankle strap, and chunky sole stood out in comparison to previous models like the Blazer, which had gained traction in the basketball market. Aside from its appearance, the Air Force 1 differentiated itself from other shoes through its Nike Air technology and construction. Kilgore explained in an interview with Nike that the AF1 was the first Nike shoe to feature slip-lasted construction, a process in which the upper is pulled tightly over the shoe last and is then glued to the midsole, making for a more flexible upper. 

Kilgore drove to US colleges in his pickup truck and handed out AF1 samples to basketball players so that he could see if they were a viable performance shoe. The shoe was a hit. Kilgore finalized the design and Nike rolled out a monumental campaign to introduce the AF1 to the NBA. 

Image by Nike

The Air Force 1 spread like wildfire throughout the sport and soon, Nike was releasing more colourways and variations but after a two-year run, the Air Force 1 became outdated. Nike released more innovative basketball shoes and the technology of the AF1 just couldn’t match up. The AF1 disappeared from basketball courts and it looked like the model would never be produced again. Then, the silhouette received a new life thanks to its growing popularity off the court. Cities like Baltimore and New York kept the AF1 alive through casual wear and slowly, demand travelled from city to city until every shop was getting requests to carry the Air Force 1. 

Now, almost 40 years later, the Air Force 1 is one of the most popular shoes on the planet. With decades of colourways to choose from, we looked back at every AF1 on StockX and selected those releases with the greatest impact on sneaker culture.

These are the 10 best Air Force 1s of all time:

Air Force 1 Entourage Undefeated

In a 2006 episode of HBO’s Entourage, Turtle and Vince made a critical mistake familiar to every sneakerhead across the world. They pulled up to their sneaker spot (Undefeated Santa Monica), hoping to cop an extremely rare pair of Air Force 1s, but by the time they arrived it was too late: the line was out the door and stock was already depleted. As they entered the store, they passed the late DJ AM exiting with the last pair in Turtle’s size, leaving the boys empty-handed. 

On the show, the grail in question was designed by a fictional artist named “Fukijama”. In reality, the Air Force 1 Entourage Undefeated was designed and lasered by Nike designer Mark Smith. It is rumoured that only 100 pairs of the Entourage Forces were produced, half of them going to the cast of Entourage, Turtle included. This extreme scarcity, along with its connection to one of the biggest TV shows of the 00s, makes this one of the best Air Force 1s of all time.

Air Force 1 Off-White MOMA

From Jordans to Air Prestos, the collaborative partnership between Off-White and Nike has produced some of the most coveted sneakers of all time. “The Ten” collection, which debuted in the fall of 2017, sparked an insatiable new demand for the pairing of the two brands. Virtually every time they collaborate – including recent projects like the Off-White Jordan 4 – it sends the resale market into a frenzy. But, of all the silhouettes to don an Off-White zip tie, the most expensive is still a pair of Air Force 1s. 

The Nike Air Force 1 Off-White MOMA has dominated the Nike Off-White category without question since its MOMA-exclusive release in 2018. The shoe has resold for a stratospheric average price of just over $5,400 in the past year – approximately $1,000 more than the renowned Jordan 1 Off-White Chicago. A performance like this is not only impressive when compared to other Off-White silhouettes, but even against some of the best Air Force 1s in the category.

Air Force 1 07 White

Even though limited and collaborative Air Force 1s make the headlines, nothing beats a crispy pair of all-whites. The white Nike Air Force 1 Low is one of the best Air Force 1s because it has withstood the test of time. It was popular in the 1990s thanks to street culture in cities like New York and Baltimore, and now, its popularity has spread across the globe. The fresh appeal of the all-white AF1 Low helped it become one of the best-selling sneakers of all time and a towering monument in sneaker culture.

Air Force 1 Low Playstation

Musicians and athletes weren’t the only ones to receive their own Air Force 1 collaborations during Nike’s run of limited collabs in the mid-2000s. In celebration of the much-anticipated PlayStation 3 release, Nike teamed up with Sony to create the extremely limited Nike Air Force 1 Low Playstation. These patent leather grails were only given to select Sony employees throughout the year leading up to the release of the Sony PS3. While the PS3 made it into the homes of millions of video game fans across the globe, hardly anyone got their hands on a pair of the AF1s. Only 150 pairs were created, each having its own individual numbering.

Air Force 1 Linen Kith Exclusive

To celebrate the grand opening of KITH Miami in 2016, Ronnie Fieg revived the Air Force 1 Linen for the first time in 15 years. The Linen is known as the greatest colourway to come out of Nike’s CO.JP project, a series of Japanese exclusive styles that were prominent in the early 2000s. While age and limited availability have contributed to the soaring appreciation of the Linen, the main reason it is considered one of the best Air Force 1s of all time is because of its simple colourway and next-level quality. A buttery light brown leather upper with smooth Atmosphere accents push construction to the forefront, letting the design speak for itself.

Nike Air Force 1 Low 1World CLOT

As part of the limited-edition “1WORLD” releases in 2009, Nike and Hong Kong-based label CLOT paid homage to the Chinese New Year by releasing the Nike Air Force 1 Low 1WORLD CLOT. This all-red design was a foundational moment in CLOT’s creative partnership with Nike: it was the first design in their history to feature the signature silk upper, a design element that has been present in some of the best Air Force 1s in recent years, including many further designs with CLOT.

Air Force 1 Mark Smith Laser Cashmere

In 2003, Nike designer Mark Smith added a unique twist to the traditional construction of the Air Force 1 with the Air Force 1 Mark Smith Laser Cashmere. Smith is known for his work on the Laser Project, a design initiative that lets patterns, as well as familiar design details, get burned onto leather with surgical precision. Instead of the signature leather panelled construction, the AF1 Laser features a one-piece upper with classic Air Force design details lasered into the material to retain distinct characteristics. Only 200 pairs of the Cashmere colourway were produced, making this design not only one of the most unique releases in Air Force 1 history, but also one of the rarest.

Air Force 1 Low HTM

Long before Fragment was established, Hiroshi Fujiwara partnered with Nike designer Tinker Hatfield and then CEO Mark Parker to create one of the brand’s most elusive collaborative series: HTM (which stands for Hiroshi, Tinker, Mark). Fujiwara’s goal for HTM was to elevate certain models with premium materials and new colourways in order to add a sense of luxury to sneakers. The first Nike silhouette to get an HTM makeover was the Air Force 1 Low in 2002. Only 1,500 pairs were produced in each colour (black and brown), which further emphasized the importance of quality over quantity. Following the original release, HTM followed up with more luxe AF1s that are among the best Air Force 1s to date.

Air Force 1 Chamber of Fear

In the mid-2000s, a lot of Nike athletes got their own AF1 PE. Names like Kobe Bryant, Rasheed Wallace, Amare Stoudamire, Mike Bibby, and even Michael Vick have all adorned the heel of some of the best Air Force 1s. But even with this star-studded lineup of PEs, none of them caused collectors to hunt for Forces quite like LeBron James’ Chamber of Fear Pack. 

The Air Force 1 Chamber of Fear Pack was released as a tribute to a 2004 martial arts-themed ad campaign to promote the Nike Air Zoom LeBron II. Six shoes made the pack, each one given a name representing the forces surrounding The Chosen One: Temptation, Hype, Self-Doubt, Complacency, Haters, and the rarest of them all, Fearless Warrior. Five of the six Air Force 1s released regionally in extremely limited quantities of 150 pairs. The last pair, the Air Force 1 Chamber of Fear Fearless Warrior, never released to the public. Only friends and family of Nike and LeBron were seeded the shoes, making them one of the rarest Air Force 1s of all time.

Air Force 1 Rocafella

It isn’t a secret that hip hop culture is the reason Air Force 1s are as popular as they are. From Nelly’s “Air Force One” to Jay-Z’s “Can I Live II”, some of the most prominent voices in hip hop let it be known what was really hot in the streets, inspiring the rest of the world to get fitted in a pair of crispy whites. Nike took notice and, in turn, began to reward these unofficial ambassadors with their own AF-1s, starting with Jay-Z and Roc-A-Fella. In collaboration with NYC shoe retail legend Udi Avshalom, who ran the now-defunct sneaker chain Training Camp, Nike created branded white-on-white with simple stitched Roc-A-Fella logos. 

The Air Force 1 Roc-A-Fella originally didn’t go to retailers and was instead limited to 100 pairs as promo samples. Then, in 2017, the Roc AF-1s finally saw an official release as part of the AF100 collection in honour of the 35th Anniversary of the Air Force 1.