Nike and Off-White have a tight-knit partnership that, as revealed in March, will continue despite the passing of designer Virgil Abloh. His designs will continue to release in accordance with Abloh’s wishes, and his wife Shannon Abloh will work with Nike going forward to bring more of his designs to the market.
Another chance —
The next sneaker expected from the duo is a green version of the highly-coveted “Lemonade” Air Force 1 Low, which was released last July to coincide with Abloh’s “Figures of Speech” art exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. The model is among Abloh’s most desired of all — while the kicks retailed for $150, buying a pair on the resale market costs anywhere from $1,200 to $2,500.
Dressed entirely in vibrant green, the upcoming Air Force 1 Low follows the same design as its “Lemonade” counterpart. A shiny silver Swoosh has been stitched onto the sneaker with black thread, complementing the shoe’s black laces. Abloh’s signature “AIR” branding sits on the lateral midsoles while Nike x Off-White branding appears in white font on the medial side. Miniature neon green tabs hang off of the lateral Swooshes as matching green zip ties finish off the AF1.
A summer sneaker drop? —
Pairs of the original “Lemonade” sneaker were limited through an exclusive SNKRS Stash release, allowing only people who were within a certain proximity to the “Figures of Speech” exhibition to unlock access to the shoes. Yet widespread desperation to own the Nike x Off-White sneakers — or resell them with a hefty markup — caused people to “spoof” or fake their location in order to order the Air Force 1 Low regardless of where they were actually located.
With this in mind, demand for the green Nike x Off-White Air Force 1 Low is guaranteed to be overwhelming. And, as demonstrated before, people will go to extreme lengths to get their hands on the shoes. It’ll be interesting to see how (or if) Nike can protect their release.
As of now, there’s no confirmation on when the green sneaker will release, although sneakerheads have speculated that pairs might launch to coincide with the exhibition’s move this summer to the Brooklyn Museum. The timing does make sense, and we can only hope the kicks arrive as soon as possible.
