Anatomy of an Urban Legend Premiere

Thibaut de Longeville and Nike premiered their film 'Air Force 1: Anatomy of an Urban Legend' at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem last night.  What better setting to celebrate the history of "Uptowns" than Uptown?  People from all walks of life converged at the historic theater to pay respect to the incredible history of the shoe's evolution from a nearly nixed line to a global icon.

The director went to some of the most widely recognizable sneaker aficionados for their unique perspectives.  Sneaker fans like myself will have no trouble identifying these faces:

Bobbito Garcia

Anthony Gilbert

Udi Avshalom

DJ Clark Kent

Grandmaster Caz

The hour long film was a blast to watch and viewers cheered and applauded throughout the showing at their favorite sentiments, comments and personalities.  After the film's end, the director sat down for a brief interview.  He spoke of his excitement about working on the project as well as his admiration for the cast and their respective passions for the hobby.

It was very nice to kick back and watch such a thorough examination of the storied history of the Nike Air Force 1.  Of course, there were quite a few rare examples in the building.  Here are some of my favorite captures of the evening:

Jump over to my flickr page to view more shots from the event.

Nike Black History Month AF1 - 2010

Finally!  A full reveal happened last night on TNT.  Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley were each presented a pair of the shoes and the matching varsity jacket. 

 

The shoes and jacket are scheduled to release on February 18th at select retailers.  Being from Harlem myself, I'm loving the Harlem Renaissance theme.  I can't wait to get my hands on these.

via hypebeast

The Hunt Continues - Week 2

I've not yet heard anything about the 2010 release.  That bothers me and it really shouldn't.  It has been this way every year.  I usually don't find anything out until a week or so before they release.  Then it's just a mad dash to see how I can get them.

This is the 2006 release.  They stuck with the Air Force 1 as the base shoe and threw some weaving in the mix.  This is the first pair I was able to get my hands on.  I actually traded for them which was a beautiful thing.  I had to actively keep myself from wearing these because I wanted to wear them all the time.  What really sucks is that this pair is back in Japan.  I need to get them shipped here so I can wear them next month. 

 

The Hunt Begins - Week 1

Every year, I go ape crazy trying to get my hands on Nike's Black History Month shoe.  The reason I have to do that is because they have always been models not released to the general public.  Aside from appealing to the collector in me, it's always a very personal endeavor to seek out and claim these releases.  I'm big on my culture and history and these shoes are always nice to have.

Each week leading up to February I will post the previous 4 releases in sequential order.  If I'm lucky, I'll get to post the 5th installment in February.  Below is the first shoe that released in 2006.  By far the most simple of all of the shoes and that's one of the reasons why this one is so special to me.  I learned about this shoe while visiting Flight Club one day.  Chris Vidal and I were discussing shoes and somewhow got on the topic of Black History Month.  He mentioned that he had an Air Force 1 in the building celebrating the month and I almost lost my lid.  I spent the next year and a half or so looking for the shoe and finally managed to grab a pair.  I actually grabbed them after I got the second release.

So, for week 1, here is the first Nike Black History Month shoe.