NIKE CROSS TRAINERS

Air Trainer III
In 1988 Nike expanded the line. The high end Air Trainer SC introduced visible air and the Air Trainer TW became the lighter weight, low-cut option in versions with and without a forefoot strap. SC stood for Sports Classic but by this time the names Air Trainer SC and Bo Jackson were synonymous. In the playground one rumour was that TW was for Totally Washable, like you could toss them in the machine with your gym gear. Turns out that’s right!

Junior designers were often tasked with designing take downs of the flagship Nike shoes for lower price points. In 1988 this process gave birth to the Air Cross Trainer line.

Just Do It
In 1989 Nike launched ‘Just Do It’. Bo Jackson got a new shoe, the Air Trainer SC II, but it was lacking the signature strap. It wasn’t until the Spring 1990 versions that the SC II High and Low came into full effect. The huge forefoot strap, fluoro colours, padded ankle collar, air window and Web-Tec support strips were just dizzying. It had seemingly endless lacing options.

1990 also gave us the Air Cross Trainer II and an updated TW in the Air Trainer TW Lite. By the time the new SC II colours dropped in the Fall the Cross Training Collection had overtaken the Running Collection as Nike’s second highest revenue earner behind the combined might of Basketball’s Air Jordan, Flight and Force.

Mission accomplished!