Nike Air Huarache 'Persian Violet'
Colorway: Desert Sand/Persian Violet · Style code: 318429-056 · Release date: September 21, 2018 · Price: $140 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Air Huarache 'Triple Black' (318429-003) · Nike Air Huarache Light Ash Sneakers (318429-005) · Nike Air Huarache 'Hyperpunch' (318429-006) · Nike Air Huarache 'Bright Crimson' (318429-009) · Nike Air Huarache Grey Sneakers (318429-010)
The Huarache's structure is the whole idea, and this treatment is arranged to show it. Tinker Hatfield's design splits the shoe into two pieces doing opposite jobs: an inner sleeve that molds around the ankle and foot, and an exterior cage that works as an exoskeleton to hold it in place. The elastic heel strap at the back is the visible seam between them. Nike borrowed the name from the woven Mexican huarache sandal, whose construction works on the same principle of an open frame holding a soft interior, and the running line has used it since the early 1990s.
Water skiing is the reference Nike has always given for the fit: bindings that grip without a rigid shell around them. Persian Violet dresses that in a neutral Desert Sand base with purple and Watermelon running through the accents, a pairing that reads warmer than the model's usual black-and-bright treatments. The foam sole carries an encapsulated Air unit underneath. It arrived in September 2018 at $110.