At an advance screening and reception for “Air” at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, I’d say at least 60% of the attendees sported Nike gym shoes aka sneakers aka kicks. The Air Jordan 1 Mid, the Nike Dunk Low SE, Air Jordan Retro High Tops, Nike Air Force 1, Nike Blazer Low Platform, etc., etc., in a myriad of bright and shiny colors. Granted, the crowd was dressed to suit the occasion — but it’s not as if we all went out and purchased Nikes in advance. They’re in our closets. They’re in a LOT of closets and hallways and mud rooms and garages and under the beds around the planet.
This is my way of saying, yes, director/producer/co-star Ben Affleck’s “Air” is on one level a gigantic commercial for Nike—but “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” was a love song to Christian Dior, and even the scandal-ridden “House of Gucci” was a glam tribute to that high-end luxury fashion house, and hey, the Devil Wore Prada. (And a whole lot more people have Nikes on their feet than Gucci or Dior or Prada on their backs.)
