We recently hit Braamfontein to check out an installation that Nike Sportswear SA put up at the Alex Theatre in honour of annual Air Max day of 26 March 2014.
Now, you may have been introduced to the Air Max sneaker by OkMalumkoolkat, Cream Cartels Mome or SABC’s Raphael Griffiths in the mid-2000s when they started gaining attention on the streets of JHB, but the iconic pair has been a factor since 1987.
The story goes that in 1987, Robert Tinker, a trained architect, took a maverick piece of Parisian architecture as inspiration and cut away at the surrounding foam midsole to reveal a larger Air-Sole unit, proving the existence of the ‘Air’ cushioning technology that Nike had marketed in previous running shoes.
“I thought about sculpting the midsole to be more minimal, rising up where more support is needed and dropping back down where it isn’t,” Hatfield remembers.
Between then and now, the shoe has become pretty much as part of not just running culture, but street culture too; getting plugs in songs for the past 10 years and being the official choice of footwear for the angriest rapper on the planet, Eminem (perhaps the Air technology in homies kicks helps him to catch his enemies quicker?)
The 25PSi space played host to a live recording of Boyznbucks member, Mkay Frash’s Hunting For Kicks sneaker education online show, where he interviewed Kid Fonque and OkMalumkoolkat in front of an audience. The futuristic installation, which allows anyone to come through and learn more about the history of the pair through interactive mediums, will be open until tomorrow, which is Air Max Day. You can also cop a pair at the 25PSi exhibition space. To join the celebration tomorrow, RSVP at www.25pisi.co.za
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