Riccardo Tisci returns with the NikeLab Air Zoom Legend x RT

The NIKELAB AIR ZOOM LEGEND x RT joins athletic aesthetics with classic boot styling, inspired by the merging of sea and land in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s been 25 years since Nike released the Aqua Boot, a shoe made for water sports like sailing and windsurfing that has beocme the stuff of legend. Whilst the Aqua Boot (and its low-cut companion, the Aqua Sock) had specific uses in mind way back in 1990, the style found a group of fans who have championed the simple construction, clean lines and bright colours ever since the models debuted. Over 25 years later, the sole of the Aqua Boot provides the foundation for the new NikeLab Air Zoom Legend x RT: a Chelsea boot inspired by the uniting of ocean and land in Rio de Janeiro.

Created in collaboration with Riccardo Tisci, this release marks the fourth time the designer has teamed up with Nike. “I wanted to combine Nike’s rich experimentation in boot silhouettes with my love of the Chelsea Boot, in particular,” Tisci says. “Shoes like the Nike Aqua Boot or SFB Boot have been equally embraced by niche sport communities and adopted as style staples. After our first collaboration in 2014, when I designed an Air Force 1 Boot for Nike, I knew I had even more visions of this kind of sport style to realize.”

Working closely with the NikeLab team, Tisci created two versions of the shoe: one with a basketball-inspired black mesh upper, colorful heel and ice outsole and a second version with a grey floral pattern embroidered on a black, woven jacquard upper and white midsole. To show the motive behind the aesthetics, both outsoles contain geometric midsole tooling inspired by Rio’s curvy Copacabana sidewalks. The shoe is finished with leather lining, pull tabs and foot beds, as well as a heel clip that has the RT logo, star and Nike swoosh branding. It’s a strong, bold design that will no doubt find many fans.

The NIKELAB AIR ZOOM LEGEND x RT drops on THURSDAY 8 DECEMBER and will be available via the banner below.