Nike Blazer

Blazer

When Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman established Nike in 1972, they had already designed some excellent running shoes, but none for basketball. Hoping to grow the brand, Bowerman set to work on the Bruin – a solid basketball trainer that he tried out on his local team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Soon, he had built an even more technologically advanced model: the Nike Blazer.

In order for the Blazer to compete with popular brands like Converse, it would have to both perform well and look great. To achieve this, Bowerman gave it the three top footwear materials of the time: a durable leather upper, a soft nylon tongue and a vulcanised rubber outsole, and decorated it in a pristine shade of white, with bold black swooshes, an exposed foam tongue and stylish branding.

The brand’s powerful new swoosh logo was particularly important to the overall success of the Blazer as it allowed the shoe to stand out visually. Throughout the 1970s, its distinctive look and high-quality build made it popular in the NBA, and when the Trail Blazers won the league in 1977, it got an even greater boost.

The Nike Blazer got its biggest endorsement from the highly entertaining George Gervin, who crucially switched over from adidas because he liked the quality of Nike’s design. Known as the Iceman for his cool demeanour, Gervin promoted the Blazer during the late 70s and early 80s, often putting in outstanding performances in his own Player Exclusive model. However, by the mid 80s, Gervin had retired from the NBA and the Blazer had been surpassed by more up-to-date basketball shoes.

Fortunately, the Blazer also happened to be an ideal skate shoe, and it was adopted by the skating community, who continued to wear it into the 2000s. This eventually led to some key collaborations, firstly with streetwear brand Stüssy and then with pro skater Lance Mountain, who made a more skater-friendly version of the Blazer for Nike SB.

These collaborations paved the way for significant partnerships with clothing labels like Supreme, Comme des Garçons and sacai, as well as others with respected skating brands and pro skaters. Then, legendary designer Virgil Abloh and his luxury fashion brand, Off-White, crafted a series of unconventional Blazers that were part of a hugely successful Nike collection. By the 2020s, the Blazer was being worn by celebrities like Vittoria Ceretti, making it a classy fashion item that everyone wanted to own.

Over more than five decades, the Nike Blazer has been on a remarkable journey from the courts of the NBA through the underground subculture of skateboarding to the world of modern fashion. Most impressively, it has done this with few changes to the original build, proving its credentials as a stylish and comfortable lifestyle sneaker. This incredible story has earnt it a special place in sneaker culture, where it is seen as one of Nike’s most iconic silhouettes.