Weird shoe haters, please advise. It is still very much going to be a freaky shoe summer, or at least Nike is all but ensuring that with the release of two new colorways of its delightfully strange Air Rift. 

Now, with deep olive and butter yellow colorways entering the chat, Nike’s Air Rift is bringing some stylishly muted energy to the otherwise out-there shoe.

While the split-toe, tabi-style design of the barefoot running shoe is the star of the show, the intrigue of Nike's Air Rift doesn't end with its divided toe disposition as it also has that weird water-shoe disposition, with its heel-exposing back strap and lace-free upper.

Beyond the visual intrigue of it all, though, Nike's Air Rift, available on the Nike website for $70, is rooted in functionality. Even though the weird shoe renaissance is having its way with the footwear sphere right now, Nike's Air Rift is far from new.

Created in 1995 in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, the Air Rift was designed to be a high-performing running shoe that mimics the feel of running sans footwear, a prescient notion later explored by Vibram.

Despite its barely-there sole, the shoe feature some small hits of Nike's Air cushioning for added comfort and wearability. 

Much like other retro Nike darlings, though, the Nike Air Rift has superseded its intended purpose as a running shoe and now exists as a bonafide style icon, a title you can't really earn without disturbing a good chunk of the population. Such is life.

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