2019 - South Central LA artist Lauren Halsey knows what it means to create with authenticity. Halsey is hailed in her community for combining vibrant elements of found, fabricated and handmade objects from around the city to build densely textured installations and monuments. Her sculptures are inscribed with Nike Air Force 1 Mujer sentiments from the LA community, aimed at Nike Air Max 270 Womens authentically and poetically rewriting the narrative on both a local and global stage.
Halsey and her artwork are also inspiration for the latest Los Angeles–specific Air Force 1, the AF-1 ALL FOR 1 – Los Angeles. Employing Halsey’s signature style, which is deeply rooted in the South Central neighborhood she grew up in, she funkatizes the insole with a kaleidoscope of visuals, adorned Nike Air Max 95 Damen in red and Nike Air Max 270 Damen green accents, interchangeable straps and inscribed with words of love.
The shoe remixes the Triple Black High into an ode to Los Angeles, celebrating the ones who cultivate community through creativity. Inspired by colors, familiar typographic design and iconic posters plastered around the city, Halsey’s collection is a visual and tangible tale of South Central LA. The shoe’s tongue tag is woven Adidas NMD Femme in with block text true to posters seen across the city for decades, its sockliner has a collage of South LA storefronts and it features dubrae with hand-lettered screen printing in font similar to Halsey’s Hieroglyph Crenshaw Project — a public installation of hieroglyphic carvings that allows communities in South Central LA to author their own stories.
“We all should move, create and act with the conceit of love in our Nike Internationalist Womens hearts,” says Halsey. Nike Air Max 90 Damen Rosa “Love means family. It means my friends. It means my girlfriend. When I work and when I build I think about who I can involve so that the projects are centered around love from beginning to end.” 2019 - Drew Henderson's barbershop, No Cuts No Glory, is representative of Chicago's de facto meeting places. Within the barbershop, sports, politics and more are debated. Preparations for celebrations Nike Air Max 95 Mujer are made. And, most important, bonds are forged across the community.
Henderson and his shop are also inspiration for the latest Chicago-specific Air Force 1, the AF-1 ALL FOR 1 – CHICAGO. The shoe incorporates a series of graphic and material elements that celebrate the barbershop, from a specially created tongue tag that transitions Chicago's skyline into the silhouette of a comb, to aglets based on traditional Nike Air Max 90 Womens barber poles (but with an added Adidas Superstar Womens Chicago-flag twist). On the heel, a pony-hair tab reminds of the daily hair cuts in the shop, while an inner graphic of two hands celebrates unity.
"“It means so much to me to be involved with the production of a shoe that represents some of the most important things in my life: Chicago, the barbershop and the community. It is an honor to shine a spotlight on the city, industry and community that Adidas ZX 700 Mujer made me who I am and motivate me every day. I share this with all of them,” says Henderson.