Nike Cortez

The origins of the Nike Cortez

The Nike Cortez is an older model than Nike itself. Bill Bowerman designed them before he founded Nike, when he was importing and tweaking Japanese running shoes. Bowerman was a total coach; he was an Olympian who excelled at high performance, but he also managed to popularise running as a mass sport. And popular runners needed shoes with different characteristics, such as more cushioning. Bowerman had organised training groups for inexperienced runners, and one of them mentioned that the flip-flops he used to shower were more comfortable than his running shoes.

Bowerman tried putting the foam from a flip-flop in one of his shoes and it worked. The Nike Cortez grew out of the needs of early joggers and grew in influence as running grew in the United States.

Nike Cortez, from the race to the tv

During the 1970s, running grew in popularity, as did Nike's most visible shoe. The Nike Cortez was refining its lines and appearing in unexpected places. Once runners experienced the Cortez's comfort, they wanted to wear it in everyday life as well. We saw it on TV shows, models, singers, and all over Los Angeles, a city that has adopted the Cortez as its preferred model.

Farrah Fawcett, Kendrick Lamar, Whitney Houston, Forrest Gump, George Costanza or Eazy-E have used the Nike Cortez as a basic, while Union, Sacai, CLOT or COMME des GARÇONS have dared to interpret them in special editions.

Nike Cortez in FOOTDISTRICT

The different editions of Nike Cortez for women and men have a special place in FOOTDISTRICT. Which one do you choose?