If you’re from New York City and especially if you’re among the generation of older sneaker connoisseurs, it’s likely that you refer to Nike Air Force 1s simply as the “Uptown.”
Tomorrow, the company is releasing a special Uptown edition for women in a colorway paying homage to the moniker’s history, and it features one of the boldest looks for the silhouette ever seen.
The new women’s Nike Air Force 1 Upstep Uptown stands out in a crowd with a bright red premium leather that has a giant white arrow graphic covering the upper.
The history of the nickname in NYC can be traced back to the mid-1980s when the Air Force 1 was commonly sold at shoe stores in upper Manhattan as well as in Queens. Downtown sneakerheads would have to take the subway uptown to buy their pairs, and the nickname was born. Even though the Air Force 1 can now be found in virtually any sneaker store in the city that sells Nikes, the Uptown name has stuck.
Upstep refers to this iteration of the model and features a modernized construction featuring a foam midsole and a cored-out outsole for a more comfortable and lighter feel. Meanwhile, “Uptown” is the name of the colorway — a tonal red upper with a large white upward-pointing arrow across the upper, with the nickname embroidered on each heel and a subway map graphic on the insoles.
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Paying homage to the past while offering a bold look for today, the women’s-only colorway drops tomorrow on the Nike SNKRS app and at select retailers for $140.
