Nike Air Huarache Premium 'Anthracite'
Colorway: Anthracite/Black-Light Bone-Black · Style code: 704830-016 · Release date: September 21, 2018 · Price: $109 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Air Huarache Premium 'Dark Grey' (704830-001) · Nike Air Huarache Sneakers (704830-003) · Nike Air Huarache Premium 'Squadron Blue' (704830-004) · Nike Air Huarache Premium 'Gym Red' (704830-006) · Nike Air Huarache Premium 'Dark Grey Black' (704830-007)
The Huarache started with Tinker Hatfield sitting in the water waiting to be pulled up behind a boat, wearing a neoprene bootie that gripped his foot and ankle more precisely than anything he was designing. He took the material into a running shoe and then removed everything the neoprene made redundant. There is no stiff internal heel counter; an exposed strap wraps the back of the foot instead, holding the heel while letting it move. The upper is a sock with an exoskeleton over it.
Retailers were wary of a shoe with so little to it, and Nike pushed it anyway. It reached runners in 1991 and crossed into basketball soon after, most visibly when Michigan's team wore the Air Flight Huarache at the 1992 NCAA tournament.
This Premium pair keeps the model's minimal branding, with no Swoosh on the side and only the words Nike and Air printed at the heel, and swaps the usual leather or synthetic overlays for grey suede against a black strap and a white midsole.