About
Within its long corporate history, Nike has already designed several silhouettes that have earned their permanent place in the sneaker hall of fame. One of these silhouettes is the Nike Blazer. In 1973, the Blazer discovered the light of day and was initially marketed exclusively as a basketball shoe. At the time, the Blazer was something of a benchmark when it came to performance sneakers for the sport of basketball. It was distinguished by its all-leather construction, but it was primarily the oversized Swoosh that caused a stir. The company's new logo was created by designer Carolyn Davidson just two years earlier, shortly after the "Blue Ribbon Sports" company became the global Nike corporation it is today. The Blazer got its name from the local basketball team, the Portaland Trailblazers. At the time, the Blazer's clean finish provided the perfect base to prominently display the newly developed logo and take it out into the world. The huge Swoosh quickly became the trademark of the new silhouette. The Nike Blazer became particularly popular at the time thanks to NBA star George "The Iceman" Gervin. The then shooting guard of the San Antonio Spurs switched from adidas to Nike, was a big fan of the Blazer and loved wearing it on the court. The sleek silhouette with the large Swoosh quickly evolved from a basketball shoe to a popular lifestyle silhouette. Four years after the Nike Blazer's debut, a certain Frank Rudy - a former NASA engineer - invented what we know today as Nike Air technology and changed the entire performance footwear segment. In 1982, the Nike Air Force 1 became the first basketball shoe ever to feature the new Air technology, replacing the Nike Blazer at the top of the list of most popular basketball shoes. But even this fact could not stop the success of the Blazer. The solid leather upper and vulcanized sole were perfect for another sport: skateboarding. The Blazer quickly found many fans in the worldwide skate community and developed from a typical basketball silhouette to a popular skate shoe, which increased its influence in the sneaker & streetwear scene even more. Over the years, labels like Stüssy, Supreme NYC, Comme de Garcons or Off-White collaborated with Nike on the silhouette and let the Blazer finally arrived in the fashion world. The Nike Blazer is currently available again in its original form and impresses with timeless elegance and numerous classic as well as new colorways. Definitely a must-have for every sneaker fan.