crooked tongues magazine News Features

The Nike Air 180 seems to be getting another lease of life this decade. Maybe it's in honour of the model's...ummmm...19th anniversary. This shoe was supported by the blueprint for cutting-edge marketing campaigns as we know it with the Steadman and W+K coordinated Cronenberg and Steadman call ins - that's a lineup that would still leave us bugging out. For a generation, the Nike Air 180 might be the first experience of knowing a sneaker release's actual date-of-arrival rather than just seeing it suddenly appear on a shelf. Nike definitely had big plans for this expensive addition to the visible Air line. It's odd that it only made it to a handful of great models; this runner, the Force 180 and the infamous Command Force still look incredible. We're still mourning the no-show of the caged 180 Air trail remix that never left the sample gestation period a few years back. The outsole part of the Air unit had some significant changes in 2005 and the silhouette got a little 'genie' style with that extra scoop - it still looks good, but it was heavily altered. Enter saleracks.

Then we saw signs that folk were reversing their disinterest in the shoe, just as supplies dried up (it's worth doubling up on the OG colourway - one of THE dirt magnets). The Opium and a few of the Powerwall drops were serious.

Now folks seem to be newly hyped on the 180. Like Nike's very best, it's a shoe that still looks contemporary. That hasn't halted an update that blends the 180 system with Nike's latest baby - Lunar Foam - after similar colours were implemented on the Lunar Mariah PR for its introduction. Someone at global HQ evidently has a thing for that palette. We were cynical. Now we're believers. But we'll unleash some verbal diarrhea on those later. These two colourways, set for a release next month are pretty good. The navy/Solar Red variation in particular feels like another attempt to capture the spirit of the original release - a welcome addition to Summer's Nike rollout, and the red 180 unit is killer, but we're feeling the black/photo blue version too. Keep watching this space and the mailouts for more details. In the meantime, check out the Nike selection in the Crooked Tongues store - the correct weather for the white/orange versions has just arrived...