Nike has revealed images of the Air Huarache Ultra, an updated take on its popular Huarache silhouette, first designed in 1992 by Tinker Hatfield, who designed the shoe as a study in minimalist functionality. As redesigned by Ashley Comeaux, the Ultra reflects the same less-is-more thematic. .
A few of the changes include a bigger logo read on the back of the shoe plus the addition of a Flywire cord to improve fit and while the lateral rubber support pieces that are very much the original’s trademarks are still in place, on the Ultra they take up less geography on the shoe.
Perhaps the biggest difference is the shoe’s silhouette, a new-new mesh upper silhouette that sits somewhere between a mid and and a low with an elevated tongue and shoe tab that leaves ankles exposed, similar to Adidas Original’s Tubular silhouette.
One very cool thing about this shoe is that Nike is rolling it out exclusive in women’s sizing, which could be a first for a Nike shoe with unisex appeal. Nike has said repeatedly over the past couple of years that it wants to grow its offerings and connection with women so it’s good to see the brand not just talk the talk–as so many athletic brands having a habit of doing–but also walking the walk.
The initial launch of this shoe includes four colors: orange, grey, royal blue and turquoise. Look for it to hit Nike.com and select retailers on December 26th.