Designer Bruce Kilgore had one simple goal in mind when creating the Air Force 1 in 1982—“It had better work.” The AF1’s innovative intersection of Nike Air technology and Nike basketball heritage did just that. Its popularity quickly spread from the court to the pavement to become an integral part of both NBA and hip hop culture. Air Force 1 is now a worldwide cultural phenomenon and Nike’s best-selling shoe of all time, with more than 2,000 iterations created so far.
