For decades, NIGO designed sneakers that paid tribute to Nike without ever officially working with the Swoosh. His BAPE STAs became icons in their own right, their patent leather uppers and star logos unmistakably channelling the Air Force 1 while remaining resolutely their own thing. Now, the wait is over. NIGO has released his first official Nike Air Force 1 collaboration, and it is a love letter to the silhouette's golden era.
Two distinct pairs have emerged so far. The first, dubbed "Last Orgy 2", is a collaboration with UNDERCOVER's Jun Takahashi that directly references the magazine column the pair wrote together between 1991 and 1994 for Takarajima magazine. The name alone tells you this project is rooted in history: the column succeeded one written by Hiroshi Fujiwara, the godfather of Japanese streetwear and the very mentor from whom NIGO earned his nickname (NIGO translates to "number two"). Nike colour-matched the sail and loyal blue hues from an original sign that hung at NOWHERE, the boutique NIGO and Takahashi opened in Harajuku in 1993. Patent leather overlays nod to the early BAPE STAs that started it all.
The second pair is even rarer. The "2GO" is strictly limited to a 50-pair production run, all in pristine triple white with a milky translucent sole. The name is layered wordplay: in Japanese, "ni" means two, making "2GO" a direct transliteration of NIGO's own name. The heel embroidery uses the exact typeface from the legendary Eminem ENCORE Air Force 1s, an early-2000s detail that sharp-eyed archivists spotted immediately. One of the 50 pairs currently sits in a glass case at the gift shop of London's Design Museum, where NIGO's exhibition "From Japan With Love" opened to the public on 1 May.
Perhaps the most significant detail, though, is structural. For this collaboration, NIGO convinced Nike to resurrect the 2001 Air Force 1 shape, which features a narrower toe box, lower profile, and slimmer heel compared to the bulkier current iteration. It is a move that signals this partnership is not a simple colourway exercise. NIGO went back to the form that connoisseurs have been requesting for years, and Nike agreed. All future NIGO x Nike Air Force 1 releases will continue using this shape.
"As far as I know, the Air Force 1 is one of only a few silhouettes in the world that can truly be called a timeless classic," NIGO said upon unveiling the first pair. "I never imagined in my dreams that one day I would be able to express my own style through the Air Force 1." The feeling across the sneaker community has been unanimous: finally.
