Until recently, Nike’s Aqua Swoosh slip-on shoes were exclusively only available in kid sizes.
Rubbery and perforated like a Crocs Classic Clog, yet finished with the futuristic and sporty panache we know and love of Nike, the Aqua Swoosh, for me, epitomises what fashion’s ongoing love for slip-ons is all about: low effort, high reward.
This means that you can make the Aqua Swoosh look great, with little-to-no fuss.
Problem is, I’m not a kid, nor do I have kid-sized feet, so the last 12 months has been a waiting game between Nike and I to see when (or even if) the label is actually going to release the Aqua Swoosh in adult sizes.
Last week, I received my first glimmer of hope from Mita, the famed Japanese sneaker retailer, after it dropped a handful of slightly larger sizes that stretched as far as a US size 5. Still, not my size, but certainly a step in the right direction.
Since then, it's been radio silence from Nike. Sure, there are already plenty of other Nike slip-ons out there (let's hear it for the Calm Mule and the recently-revived Nike ACG Rufus), but none of them are quite as wearable as the Aqua Swoosh.
Then you have the Nike mules that have inexplicably graced the market ahead of the Aqua Swoosh, like the Air Jordan 1 Golf Mule, for instance, which should really have been canned from the off.
Even the Air Force 1 Loafers have nothing on the Aqua Swoosh, in all its rubbery glory.
If Nike does eventually release the Aqua Swoosh in adult sizes, it'll only be good news for them as well as me, because it has all the hallmarks of a would-be popular slip-on with an interestingly futuristic upper, a Swoosh at the heel, and a wavy-looking silhouette.
Since the initial rise of the foam slip-on towards the backend of 2019 — prior to an astronomical surge in popularity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that's since continued — the footwear industry has had its feet firmly cemented in a loungewear-obsessed easy era.
Nike’s Croc-like slip-on, though, is yet to officially enter that cozy chat, for one reason or another, which is a shame because Nike's kids shoes ought to be blown up to adult size more often.
But if you're reading this, Nike, which I presume you are, let me reassure you with this: I'm 100 percent convinced that the Aqua Swoosh will be the shoe of the summer, if you only let it.
