In celebration of the Nike Cortez‘s 50th anniversary, the Swoosh has tapped a select few collaborators to reinterpret its iconic design for the next half-century. Among them, sacai, which has blended heritage and modern Nike Running principles for the Zoom Cortez 4.0.
Clad in the old school performance model’s inaugural color palette, the sneaker indulges in a shape familiar to original schematics of the Cortez, though the arrangement courtesy of Chitose Abe deviates from the decades-old proposal. Dual-layered profile swooshes, tongues and other components harken back to most of sacai’s Nike Sportswear collaborations from the last three years. And while just as striking on the Nike Cortez, the stacked design details play a secondary role to the visible Zoom Air units at the forefoot of the sneaker. Abe’s choice not only injects new visual language into the model, but also revamps its performance benefits given that the shoe debuted without any Air 50 years ago. As the tagline for the collaboration states, the shoe is “still crazy after all these years.”
Enjoy campaign imagery of the pair ahead, courtesy of Sneaker Politics, as you wait to try your luck via Nike SNKRS and select shops on Tuesday, August 30th, and Wednesday, August 31st, for $185 USD.
For more from under the NIKE, Inc. umbrella, check out the latest Air Jordan releases.
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sacai x Nike Cortez
Release Date: Aug 31st, 2022 (Wednesday)
Color: White/University Red/Light Crimson
Mens: $185 Style Code: DQ0581-100
North AmericaAug 31st, 2022 (Wednesday)
EuropeAug 31st, 2022 (Wednesday)
