NIGO and j-hope Give the Air Force 1 a Burnt Sunrise Glow

NIGO's Air Force 1 World Tour has made its next stop, and this time he's brought a friend along. BTS member j-hope joins the Japanese designer for a glossy new take on the Air Force 1 '01, and Nike has just dropped the official images.

If you've been following NIGO's journey with the AF1, you'll know the tour kicked off with the Nike x NIGO LO2 Air Force 1, his first take on the silhouette. That one came with an apparel collection inspired by LO2 pieces from 1993, a nod to the magazine column NIGO made famous with Jun Takahashi in the early nineties.

The second chapter swaps archive references for a friendship. NIGO and j-hope have worked together before on the HUMAN HOPE collection at Human Made, and according to Nike, this collab grew out of mutual admiration.

NIGO doesn't hold back on the praise either, calling j-hope one of the few people who can become "a true ambassador for culture".

A Closer Look at the NIGO x j-hope Nike Air Force 1...

The base here is the Air Force 1 '01, the slimmer, vintage-leaning version of the AF1 that Nike has brought back specifically for NIGO's series.

Up top, a glossy leather upper comes dressed in Burnt Sunrise and Metallic Gold. It's a warm, rich combo that leans into the 90s Tokyo nostalgia Nike talks about, while Chlorine Blue hits, including on the Swoosh, keep things from feeling too muted.

j-hope's favourite part? The colour of that enamel-like finish. He's also a fan of the patterned laces, a detail he says you don't see very often.

The rest of the personal touches are easy to spot. An embroidered squirrel sits on the heel counter as a nod to j-hope's energetic 'hobicore' style, while the tongue tags and heel carry reworked 'j-hope Air' and 'NIGO Air' branding.

Even the packaging gets the treatment, with the pair arriving in a special vintage-style shoebox and a co-branded case.

And this won't be the last we see of the World Tour. Nike says future styles will keep drawing on NIGO's friends, influences and personal history, so we're already wondering who's next.

How about the Drop Date?

The NIGO x j-hope Nike Air Force 1 lands first as an exclusive on humanmade.jp on 17 October. The global launch follows on 22 October via SNKRS and selected retailers, with a UK retail price of £139.99.

Want to try your luck? The pair will be available through Nike.

Keep an eye on our release calendar so you don't miss it.

IMAGE CREDITS: NIKE