Will We Ever Have a Nike Air Rift Summer Again?
What are the demands of a summer sneaker rotation? A pair of triples whites? Sure. Maybe a few pastels; mesh never hurts; something lightweight, obviously; or throw 'em all out and swipe a pair of Nike Air Rifts.
As another summer creeps near, Nike has once again promised a classicly styled pair of Air Rifts will be making their way to market; except, the Swoosh has said this all before. Spoilers: its promises went largely unfulfilled.
To say there have been no Rifts at all would be disingenuous. In the past few years, the Air Rift Breathe has reared its head a handful of times, with standard Air Rifts appearing in a concise line-up of lackluster colorways that are a far cry from the silhouette's glory days throughout the late 90s and early 2000s.
Last year, Rift Heads like myself (you could catch me in Rifts, 1/4 length Nike Dri Fits, and Footlocker tees all summer as a pre-teen) got excited at the prospect of a summer bang in the form of a "Volt" colorway.
Well, we're still waiting. Thanks to region-locking, these have only been enjoyed by people in select nations, such as the Philipines, with the UK, US, and EU left out to dry. Honestly, I'm hurt.
Fast forward to now, and the Swoosh has promised not only the return of an absolute classic in the form of the Air Rift OG "Kenya" but also a camouflage print finish.
As of the moment of writing this article, the "Kenya" OGs are without a release date, while the camo pair are said to touch down at Nike and END. early next week.
Either way, things suggest that an Air Rift resurgence is set for the summer, but until I see pairs hitting UK stores, me and my jadedness simply refuse to believe Rifts will be free of their cursed regional lock.
