As part of its city-centered “All for One” collaborative effort, Nike has linked with Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey on a triple black Air Force 1 High silhouette (style code: CU3052-001). Rooted in her love for the South Central neighborhood she grew up in, the black shoe’s details reference her installations and sculptures, which pull together elements of found, fabricated and handmade objects.
The shoe features a black leather upper with suede overlays and textured leather on the heel and is packed with artistic touches. Mismatched laces are offered in green and red while the shoe’s ankle strap and Swoosh is interchangeable and offered in translucent, patent and reflective options. The shoe is also detailed with words frequently featured in Halsey’s work including “summaeverythang,” “neighborhood,” “autonomy” and “pride.”
The shoe’s tongue tag makes use of a font typically used on event posters while the shoe’s sockliner is detailed with a collage of South Los Angeles storefronts. The shoe’s lace dubrae is detailed with a hand-drawn font pulled from Halsey’s Hieroglyph Crenshaw Project, a public installation of hieroglyphic carvings that allows South Central residents to author their own stories.
While Halsey pays tribute to South Central at the root of it all is love. “We all should move, create and act with the conceit of love in our hearts,” said Halsey in a project press release. “Love means family. It means my friends. It means my girlfriend. When I work and when I build I think about who I can involve so that the projects are centered around love from beginning to end.”
Nike and Halsey’s Air Force 1 launches on December 7, 2019 on nike.com, SNKRS and select Los Angeles retailers.
