Brand: Off-White™ x Nike
Model: Air Force 1 Low
Release Date: September 29
Price: TBC
Buy: Select Off-White™ boutiques
What We’re Saying: Virgil Abloh's longstanding partnership with Nike is supposedly coming to an end following those 50 new Off-White™ x Nike Dunks.
One Abloh-designed pair that never received a proper release date, though, is the "Lemonade" Air Force 1, previously referred to as the "University Gold" and "Canary Yellow."
Per the Off-White™ Instagram account, the colorway was "coming soon" to select Off-White™ boutiques in conjunction with Abloh's "Figures of Speech" exhibit at ICA Boston, which runs from July 3 to September 26.
LeBron James debuted the Forces prior to the NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta earlier this year, as he sported the bright yellow pair while walking down the tunnel, ultimately giving us our first real-life look at the anticipated iteration. Now, as we are nearing a release, official images of the collaborative pair emerged.
The "Lemonade" Air Force 1 closely mimics Abloh's previous AF1 designs, being outfitted with a metallic silver Swoosh, exposed stitching, orange tabs, Helvetica branding, and the signature zip-tie. In keeping with tradition, Virgil personalized LeBron's pair by writing on the shoes with a black Sharpie.
He penned “LEBRON” next to the "AIR" branding on the right lateral midsole, "BLACK LIVES MATTER" alongside the "AIR" branding on the left lateral midsole, and “VIRGIL WAS HERE” on the left medial midsole. The designer also added his last name to the hangtag on the right shoe.
Previously, we had only seen the "Lemonade" Forces via an 8-bit image on Abloh's Public Domain website, where he previewed his upcoming Off-White™ x Nike sneakers. Off-White™ then shared product photos on Instagram, also revealing the official name of the colorway and adding that the Forces will be staff footwear for Virgil's exhibition at ICA Boston.
Turns out that Abloh shock-dropped the "Lemonade" Air Force 1s on September 29, tying in with the planned conclusion of his ICA Boston show. The show has been extended, though, so perhaps this was a celebratory release.
Will the "Lemonade" AF1s drop again? Only time (and Virgil) will tell. In the meantime, you can shop the best Air Force 1s for any budget here.
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