Best Nike Women’s Colourways that Avoid the Clichés: Part 2
The female sneakerhead community is growing exponentially everyday, and every shoe maker is attempting to cater to it. Brands are thinking a little more progressively now, and yet, women-exclusives still don the same features and colours that three-year-old girls stereotypically like.
We’re constantly on the lookout for womens colourways that surprise us, for sneakers that push the boundaries of sneaker design in similar ways that men’s sneakers are being reinvented. After another long-and-hard search, we’re back with the second part of our list of Nike womens colourways that avoid the cliches.
Nike Air Max 'City Collection'
In 2016, Nike released the Air Max 'City Collection' exclusively for women. The pack was made up of five Air Max silhouettes that were inspired by cities around the world, namely NYC, Tokyo, London, Paris and Shanghai. We love this pack for its dedication to innovation and its exciting use of materials and colours.
One of our favourites from the pack is the Air Max 90 Ultra. A homage to China’s biggest metropolitan city, Shanghai, the sneaker nods towards ancient Chinese architecture and design. The crimson-red offering features a suede upper with amazingly detailed embroidery patterns. Meanwhile, an accented Air-Sole unit and a set of glossy premium laces mimic the vibrancy of the city it represents.
Another one that catches the eye is the Air Max BW Ultra, which was influenced by Victorian London, more specifically, the era’s design history. The coffee-coloured Hyperfuse upper is bordered with a contrasting black embroidery, harking toward traditional tile patterning popular during Queen Victoria’s reign.
Whatever your style and taste, the pack does a great job of recreating essential artistic periods of the five sneaker epicentres across the globe. They’re available to cop on eBay, StockX and Flight Club.
Nike Air Max 1 'Premium Wheat/Team Orange'
Last year, Nike released the Air Max 1 in two exclusive female colourways, one of which was this Wheat/Team Orange/Gum Yellow number. The colourblocking is crazy good — slightly reminiscent of the NikeCraft Mars Yard 2.0 — and the Nike Swoosh is unlike anything we’ve seen on the Air Max 1. Like the 'City Collection', it’s refreshing to see the brand do something novel and inventive.
The shoe features a tumbled leather upper in Wheat, a crisp white midsole alongside a gum sole and, the star feature, a striped red midfoot Swoosh that gives the silhouette a pseudo-4D look. The thick colour-popping stitching against more muted, classical tones and styles, makes it look like Nike went slightly rogue — but we like it!
This Air Max is still available on some niche sites online, but heads up, it may be difficult to find your size!
Nike Air Force 1 07 'Lux Phantom'
We love seeing an AF-1 being toyed with creatively, and the womens Air Force 1 'Lux Phantom' is the perfect example of a female colourway being done differently. Nike has released many unusual takes of this silhouette over the past year, but this release stands out for its play on materials and patterning, as opposed to design and layout of the model itself.
In a shade of Light Bone, it dons unique black splatter markings on top of a snakeskin leather upper. These markings alongside the premium materials give this shoe a very lux feel. At first glance, it looks more like an exclusive collaboration with a Japanese fashion house rather than a GS. The lace locks, metal piece and tongue tab also come with a twist, given the bronze-gold treatment. This is definitely for ladies that want to make a bold statement while also keeping it clean!
Having released last year, it’ll be tough to find this Air Force 1 being sold online by any retailers. Jump on eBay or a consignment store to find a pair.
Nike Zoom Modairna 'Black'
The Zoom Modairna Black released back in 2017 as a ‘women’s first’ exclusive. It aimed to point towards the future of basketball-inspired fashion, merging the comfort and utility of the Zoom Air with a sleek, minimalist aesthetic. It looks like something you’d see on a haute-couture catwalk.
The Modairna was inspired by a men’s basketball shoe from the late-1990s dubbed 'The Glove'. This versatile new design features a seamless one-piece perforated leather upper which connects to a full-length Zoom Air sole. While this shoe-boot comes in Tan, Thunder Blue and Black Anthracite, our favourite is the all-black, especially impactful with the subtle embroidered Swoosh in the same shade as the upper.
This female-take on a classic basketball sneaker is for the girls who want to shoot hoops while looking like they're straight out of Blade Runner 2049. You can find this shoe on eBay and select retailers.
Nike Air Max 90 Hyperfuse 'World Cup QS'
We've saved best for last. Simply put, we’re really into the womens-exclusive Nike Air Max 90 Hyperfuse 'World Cup QS', which dropped during the Women’s World Cup in 2015. There’s a lot happening, both in terms of materials and colours, which makes this shoe even more emblematic of how exciting the event is for women around the globe.
Combining suede and mesh, this model comes in a black, teal and Vapour Green colourway. The more toned-down black and teal upper contrasts amazingly with the green pops of colour, giving the shoe a sporty and dynamic feel. This Hyperfuse has nylon overlays for durability and the usual foam-based midsole for maximum impact protection.
It’s the ideal time to cop these AM90s with the Women’s World Cup currently going down in France. It’d be nice to see Nike do more for this women’s event, and we think this take on a classic is a good representation of how versatile and important the competition is for women’s football. You can still find these shoes online — cop a pair and hit the pitch.
