Designed by Bruce Kilgore in 1982 and named after the US presidential plane AIR FORCE ONE, the AF1 quickly became a revolutionary sneaker, selling out in record time. Nearly 40 years later, the NIKE AIR FORCE 1 still brings in hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Nike.
The Air Force 1 was one of Nike’s first defining sneakers. It will always be the first basketball shoe to feature the Swoosh’s revolutionary Air cushioning technology in its heel, and it was also its first experiment with anti-slip construction – a process still used today in sneaker manufacturing. But most notably, the AF1 would be legendary Nike designer Bruce Kilgore’s first foray into basketball sneaker design.