crooked tongues magazine News Features

We'd like to get as nostalgic as the next person, but we just can't get sentimental for the Nike Air Pressure. We want to —we love Audio Two's second album and we loved the Command Force's appearance in 'White Men Can't Jump' but they were't the best shoes back then. And 1991's Air Force 180 Hi was just an awkward looking shoe because of that ugly, bulbous pump collar detailing. So, despite vitriolic responses when images of the Air Force 180 Mid leaked, we'll put it out there — it looks way better without the pump parts. When a genius like Mike Aveni can't beautify a shoe concept, you know something's wrong, and 180 was such a visually dominating technology it's all a shoe needs. Cut down to a mid, the Force 180 design language makes a lot more sense, and with the fades and speckles on that midsole it becomes a footwear manifestation of the old Command Force commercials that pitched David Robinson's disciplined, good guy persona against Charles Barkley's brawling ways — a middleground that represents 1991 and 1992's golden era of basketball design. While NikeTowns are carrying the Kanye-endorsed Phoenix Suns themed makeups, these versions take it back to Mr. Barkley's days with the 76ers with the red and white on that upper — a time when Sir Charles rocked the Air Force 2s and Alpha Forces and accidentally spat on kids like Cam'ron. As remixes go, these are one of the best bits of revisionist history from Nike in a while and they arrive in the Crooked Tongues store soon.