There’s a reason Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday are popular hashtags-cum-IRL conversation starters: the past is exciting, funny and rose tinted. Hence it works for likes and favourites and increasingly, as a big brand marketing tool.
No bad thing as far as sneakerheads, nostalgia fans and those who simply missed out the first time around are concerned.
Enter the Nike Air Rift, the brand’s debut foray into footwear promoting natural motion, circa 1996. As the people behind the scenes will tell you, “(it) attracted an audience who saw beauty in its progressive and slightly odd package," and they're about to hope it does it again.
At its most simplistic the model follows the style of a school girl’s dolly shoe, boasting just a single strap and with breathing space between it and the toes. In actual fact the design was inspired by Kenya’s barefoot distance runners, hence the initial shoe was produced in the colours of the country’s flag and the name mirrored Kenya’s Rift Valley province.
Fast forward to 2015 and the model is back, relaunching in its debut colourways at the end of April with further variations set to arrive in May.
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