SAIC Students Celebrate Nike's Iconic Air Force 1

Ten SAIC students recently got the chance to be a part of an exciting workshop with Nike in celebration of the 35th anniversary of its Air Force 1 shoe. Coordinated by SAIC Fashion Design faculty and alum Kylee Alexander (BFA 2012), the weekend-long event took place at AF-100 Gallery, a pop-up gallery space, a few doors down from RSVP Gallery, the streetwear showroom and gallery owned by Virgil Abloh, who also contributed to the AF-100 Gallery.

The event included a Department of Nike Archives exhibition where Nike showcased every edition of the Air Force 1 that has been made in the past 35 years, a chance for students to work with frequent Nike collaborators Don C and rapper Travis Scott, and students were able to customize their shoes using a variety of techniques ranging from dip dyeing, airbrushing, riveting, industrial stitching, painting, and using zip ties to create entirely new editions of the Air Force 1. Participating Fashion Design students included Jack Bressoud (BFA 2019), Sarah Foret (BFA 2020), Tianna Liu (BFA 2019), Claire Lyons (BFA 2019), Tom McCallie (BFA 2018), Carrie McMahon (BFA 2018), Andrea Montoya (BFA 2019), Sue Yeo (BFA 2019), Owen Zhong (BFA 2018), and Nancy Zhu (BFA 2016).