Beginner's Guide to Nike Sneakers

Nike Origin Story

Nike was founded as Blue Ribbon Sports in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. Starting out as a distributor for Japanese shoe company Onitsuka Tiger, the company rebranded as “Nike” in 1971, with long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine serving as the company’s first brand ambassador.

Jeff Johnson, also known as “employee number one,” claimed to have seen the word “Nike” in a dream, informing Knight of his apparition on the day he was filing a patent for the name “Dimension 6.” Knight acquiesced to the name “Nike,” allegedly inspired by the Greek goddess of victory which he discovered after visiting the Pantheon in Athens as a 24-year-old.

The Nike Swoosh was devised by graphic design student Carolyn Davidson. Knight met Davidson at Portland State University, where he was teaching at the time. Davidson initially worked on graphs and charts for the Asian market, before being tasked by Knight to create a logo that "had something to do with movement.” She came up with the Swoosh logo and was paid $35 for her work. It has since become inextricably tied to the company, along with the “Just Do It” tagline. 

Nike continues to exert a monolithic influence over sport and culture. A turning point for the brand came in 1984 when it signed NBA rookie Michael Jordan, promising him his own signature line. The Air Jordan series was born shortly thereafter, worn by the Chicago Bulls star as he wrote NBA history. 

In 1997, Jordan Brand was officially founded as an independent entity under the Nike umbrella. In 2003, Nike acquired Converse, absorbing the company into its empire as a subsidiary. In 2022, Nike acquired the virtual shoe and NFT company RTFKT Studios.

Sneakers and apparel make up the core of Nike’s product catalog. Other categories include accessories and sporting equipment.

John Donahoe is the current Nike CEO, having succeeded Mark Parker in 2020.

History of Nike 

Many designers have served Nike’s creative ethos. Today, the brand attempts to push the sports technology conversation forward from the Innovation Kitchen at its Beaverton headquarters. From Dri-Fit to Forward, Nike has been responsible for various notable technology breakthroughs in sportswear apparel—yet it is footwear where the brand has broken the most new ground.

Bill Bowerman, a former track and field coach and a pioneer of jogging in the United States, was tasked with innovating Nike in its earliest years. Working on shoes and novel materials, Bowerman famously invented the Waffle sole after borrowing his wife’s waffle iron. His ideas eventually informed the design of the Nike Cortez.

Peter Moore played an important role in Nike’s footwear development. Joining the company in 1977, the multi-talented designer created the Air Jordan 1—widely regarded as the most influential sneaker in history—and the Dunk, among others. He was also behind the Air Jordan Jumpman logo and the Air Jordan Wings logo. Moore left for adidas in 1987. 

Tinker Hatfield, a former pole vaulter, joined Nike in 1981 as a corporate architect responsible for designing stores. He eventually moved into footwear, working on the Air Max as his first project. Hatfield later became synonymous with the Air Jordan line, working closely with the basketball legend on silhouettes 3 through 25. Other Hatfield creations include the Huarache, Zoom Talaria and self-lacing Mag. Hatfield is widely cited as the most influential designer in Nike’s history and among the most influential sneaker designers of all time.

Bruce Kilgore designed the Nike Air Force 1 in 1982 as his first basketball shoe. It later transcended the court to become a global lifestyle icon. Other Kilgore sneakers include the Avenger, Adversary, Air Ace, Air Pressure and the Air Jordan 2.

Iconic Nike Collaborations

Since the early 2000s, collaborations have helped push Nike’s visual language and innovation principles forward. Spanning style, art, music and design, notable partners include:

• Nike Air Force 1 x Louis Vuitton
• Nike x Supreme
• Nike x Nocta
• Nike x Off-White
• Nike x Fear Of God
• Nike x Sacai
• Nike x Mark Newson
• Nike x Cactus Plant Flea Market
• Nike x Futura
• Nike x Travis Scott
• Nike x Ambush
• Nike x Stash
• Nike x CLOT
• Nike x Patta
• Nike x Undefeated
• Nike x Martine Rose
• Nike x Parra
• Nike x Riccardo Tisci
• Nike x AMBUSH
• Nike x Matthew M. Williams
• Nike x Comme des Garçons
• Nike x Union LA
• Nike x Jeff Staple
• Nike x Bobbito Garcia
• Nike x Stüssy
• Nike x Undercover
• Nike x Kanye West
• Nike x Lil Nas X
• Nike x Dior
• Nike x Jacquemus
• Nike x ACRONYM
• Nike x Sean Wotherspoon
• Nike x Tom Sachs
• Ben & Jerry’s
• Nike x The Grateful Dead
• Nike x J Balvin
• Nike x OVO
• Nike x Skepta
• Nike x KAWS
• Nike x Billie Eilish
• Nike x Hello Kitty
• Nike x Doernbecher

Nike works closely with superstar athletes to create bespoke footwear that matches their performance and lifestyle needs. Basketball icons on Nike’s roster include LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, while soccer stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. have also put their own unique marks on various silhouettes. Other influential sportswear names to be bestowed signature footwear include Serena Williams and Paul Rodriguez.

The HTM line is an ongoing project by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield and former CEO Mark Parker. The creative process has been described as a “jazz session,” with the three building on each others’ ideas.

Types of Nike Shoes

Most Nike shoes are initially designed with a unique purpose in mind, but can be adapted to many lifestyles. The categories below are the main pillars of Nike’s sports operation. 

Nike Basketball Shoes

Nike’s basketball division is spearheaded by Jordan Brand. Michael Jordan is the global icon behind the Air Jordan series. Nonetheless, many other NBA players wore and still wear the shoes to this day. Today, the line is equally represented in the lifestyle realm and utilizes atypical materials and technology on certain models. For more on Air Jordan, explore our official guide.

Other basketball icons to have their own line of Nike shoes include LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley and Penny Hardaway. 

Beyond Air Jordans, notable Nike basketball silhouettes include the Air Shox, Foamposite, Air Zoom G.T., PG, Zoom Freak and Cosmic.

Nike Running Shoes

Running is in Nike’s DNA and one of its biggest categories. From Bill Bowerman’s early innovations through to its present-day work for long-distance running legend Eliud Kipchoge, it is the company’s most fertile space for pushing the limits of human potential. Many people opt to wear Nike runners outside the track, thanks to their comfort. Bowerman was the brains behind Nike’s early running shoes, including the Moon Shoe and Cortez. These were succeeded by more advanced, technical silhouettes such as the Mariah, Pegasus and Air Streak. The turn of the millennium saw Nike take its technological prowess to another level. The ZoomX midsole was a huge breakthrough on the performance front, employed on premium running shoes such as the Vaporfly Next% 2, Alphafly Next% and Invincible Run Flyknit 2. More running silhouettes can be found in the Flyknit Racer, Wildhorse and Quest lines.

Nike Casual Shoes

Most Nike shoes are adaptable for casual styles. As basketball technology has evolved, shoes initially intended for the court such as the Air Jordan 1, Air Force 1 and Dunk have found a new purpose in the lifestyle realm. The Air Max line remains one of Nike’s most lauded franchises and is celebrated with the annual Air Max Day. The Blazer, Air Presto, Huarache and VaporMax are other lines that are well-suited to everyday wear. 

Nike Cleats

Nike makes a wide range of specifically engineered cleats for various sports including soccer, football and golf. The brand’s soccer cleats are headlined by the Mercurial, Phantom and Tiempo silhouettes. You can find out more about them in our specialist soccer cleats guide. Nike’s American football cleats are made for the needs of each position. For example, the Nike Force Savage Shark and the Nike Alpha Menace Elite offer more ankle protection for linebackers, while the aerodynamic Nike Vapor Edge are more suited to wide receivers. Cleats like the Nike Alpha Menace, meanwhile, are billed as suitable for all positions. Tiger Woods became the face of Nike Golf after joining the PGA tour. Silhouettes such as the Air Zoom Infinity Tour NEXT% and Air Max 1 have been reinvented with new technology for the course, offering additional traction.

The History of Nike's Most Popular Silhouettes

• Nike Air Force 1 History  
• Nike Dunks History
• Nike Blazer History 
• Nike Air Max History (95, 97, 270, etc)  

Most Popular and Trending Nike Silhouettes

Air Force 1 Released in 1982, the Air Force 1 remains a fulcrum of Nike’s footwear program. Synonymous with a white color palette, the Bruce Kilgore-designed silhouette retains the same DNA as the original design today. It has been the platform for several notable Swoosh collaborations in the modern era, including Supreme, ACRONYM and Billie Eilish.

Dunk

The Nike Dunk returned to the forefront of sneaker culture in 2018, propelled by endorsements from cultural ambassadors Virgil Abloh and Travis Scott. Despite its provenance as a basketball sneaker, the shoe, which first released in 1985, is now primarily viewed in a lifestyle context or as a skate shoe through Nike’s SB division. In addition to popular colorways such as the black and white ‘Panda,’ the sneaker has been remastered by an eclectic list of external collaborators, from Jarritos and Ben & Jerry’s to Cactus Plant Flea Market and Parra.

Blazer 

From the hardcourt and the skate park to the runway, the Blazer remains one of the most versatile silhouettes in the Nike footwear canon. Optioned today in both low and high-top iterations, the sneaker remains a source of inspiration for collaborative designs from the likes of sacai, Off-White and READYMADE.

Air Max

The Air Max line continues to serve as a vessel for some of Nike’s latest and greatest innovations. From the Tinker Hatfield-designed Air Max 1 in 1987 to 2017’s VaporMax—the first Swoosh sneaker to come equipped with a midsole consisting of a single Air unit—the series remains pivotal to Nike’s worldwide renown. Celebrated annually with Air Max Day, iconic designs such as the Air Max 90, Air Max 95 and Air Max 97 are often employed as a blank canvas for creative collaborators.

Cortez

Nike’s original running shoe designed by Bill Bowerman in 1972, the Cortez eventually transcended its running origins to make its way to the streets. The shoe marked its 50th anniversary in 2022 with collaborations from the likes of sacai, while the unmistakable white, red and blue color scheme—made famous by Tom Hanks in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump—remains one of the most popular in Nike’s footwear program.

Air Zoom Vomero 5

Released in the early 2010s as a running silhouette, the Air Zoom Vomero 5 transitioned to the lifestyle market in recent years thanks to notable collaborations with brands such as a A-COLD-WALL*. The sneaker’s maximalist design language is complemented by a vast number of vibrant colorways, including 'Vast Grey,' 'Worn Blue' and 'Wheat Grass.’

Terminator

First released in 1985, the Terminator was the first Nike basketball sneaker to be reworked with exclusive design cues for college basketball teams, including the Georgetown Hoyas. After being reinvigorated by Nike as a retro release in 2014, the heritage silhouette enjoyed yet another revival in 2023 through bold colorways and collaborations with Comme des Garçons, among others.

How to Style Nikes 

The extensive number of Nike sneakers means there is something appropriate for virtually any look. Nike sneakers can be worn as casual, everyday sneakers or dressed up with more formal, luxury clothing.

Nike Sneaker FAQ

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