AF-1 SUPREME MAX - BLACK WIDOW (NSW)

AIR FORCE 1 - Supreme Max, AKA “Black Widow”
As a centerpiece of the Nike Sportswear footwear line for Fall 08, an AF1 Supreme Max has been re-imagined with a stunning look derived from unexpected reference points and inspired by the newest Nike technologies. It is the shoe that designers have dubbed “The Black Widow.”

Born in 1982, the Air Force 1 was the first basketball shoe to incorporate Air cushioning into the midsole. A sturdy workhorse that offered unprecedented comfort and ankle support in a simple package, the AF1 has been the subject of numerous remakes, but has never lost its soul along the way. The idea of keeping the iconic sneaker’s integrity in tact while pushing innovation as far forward as possible was a challenge that Nikes Sportswear designers were happy to undertake.

“While on a design inspiration trip to Beijing, our team was taken to the Bird's Nest stadium and immediately all our cameras came out,” says Leyva. “We thought, what if we could create a structure that removes material from the upper, but maintains support and adds an innovative graphic element?”

At the same time, back in Beaverton, Nike’s Innovation Kitchen was working on a material called Flywire that would provide suspension-bridge-like foot support through a system of lightweight, high-strength threads.  The Bird’s Nest and Flywire are both designs that allow for the removal of materials by engineering exterior support structures. It was from these two sources of inspiration that the Black Widow’s distinctive upper was born.

The AF1 Supreme Max integrates injected TPU on Nubuck, allowing heavy leather to be left out of the vamp and quarter of the shoe. The TPU lines, arranged like a nest or a spider’s web, have a 3-D look because the injection process allows the network of intersecting arms to be molded in thicknesses ranging from 3mm down to 2mm. This production method also allows the lines to “radius off” creating cleaner edges. As is the case with the structures that inspired the shoe, the application of the TPU goes beyond simply adding a head-turning graphic element: It is an innovative technique that has never been applied to footwear before. From a performance standpoint, the cage not only reduces weight but provides a measure of support for the foot that has the potential to be exploited in future applications.

The AF1 Supreme Max includes such premium details as a translucent midsole and visible Max Air in the heel, a feature that has origins in Air Max and that can be seen on the signature AF1 that Rasheed Wallace currently plays in. With waxed flat laces, embossed leather on the heel tab and tongue, perforated premium leather inside the shoe and a brushed deubré, the Black Widow has a plethora of luxury refinements but never gets too high brow, thanks to the sneaker’s no-nonsense silhouette and a jet black paint job.