John Kim 
A little history on the shoe before we get on to the collaboration: the Nike Air Stability (or Stab, for short), was the first Air Max shoe to release after the Air Max 1 launched in 1987. Noted for the unique Air window in which the visibility was creatively blocked with two ‘icicles’ coming down from the top of the midsole, the Air Stability of 1988 didn’t see much action after its initial release as Nike was quickly evolving the Air Max line with newer models featured larger Air Max units. In 2005, Nike re-delivered the Air Stab to the masses (a strange tidbit of info – some boxtags labeled the shoe as ‘Stabb’ rather than ‘Stab’), but it didn’t quite as much steam until UK’s Foot Patrol was called on to re-energize the silhouette.
The Foot Patrol x Nike Air Stab was released in December of 2005 as an in-store exclusive to Foot Patrol in the UK; as they’ve done with previous releases, the Foot Patrol staff went the extra mile to reward its customers, offering English tea in Foot Patrol Stab mugs served by a gorgeous main in a scantily clad uniform. The shoe itself was designed in-house by Foot Patrol, opting for a crisp and clean colorway at the core rather than imposing with a funky gimmick as most sneaker collaborations of the 2005-2007 era had. In the end, the Stabs came out wonderfully and Nike put out plenty of Stab releases in the following years and even launched the shoe on Nike iD. It was a ‘Retro’ done right highlighted by a partnership with one of the best in the game, so check below for more of today’s Classics Revisited and stay tuned for one more big-name collab tomorrow!
Foot Patrol x Nike Air Stab
Black/Skylight-Vintage Purple-Light Silver-Maize
313094-041
12/03/05
