Nike Wmns SF Air Force 1 High 'Black Gum'
Colorway: Black/Gum Medium Brown · Style code: AA3965-001 · Release date: November 2, 2017 · Price: $951 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Wmns SF Air Force 1 'Vintage Wine' (AJ1700-600) · Nike Wmns SF Air Force 1 'Orange Pulse' (857872-800) · Nike Wmns SF Air Force 1 High 'Sail' (857872-001) · Nike Wmns SF Air Force 1 Mid 'Fossil' (AA3966-202) · Nike Wmns SF Air Force 1 Mid 'Mushroom' (AA3966-200)
Material is what makes this version of the Special Field build read as military rather than as a tall sneaker. Ballistic nylon, the tightly woven synthetic used on army gear and hard luggage, covers the heel, the shaft and the tongue. Tumbled leather handles the toe, where a shoe takes the most abuse. The shaft is wrapped in a rope lacing system rather than flat laces through metal eyelets.
All of it is black, which would be severe if the sole matched. It does not: the midsole is gum, a translucent amber rubber, and it warms the shoe considerably while tying it to the work-boot palette the design is borrowing from in the first place. The Special Field line came out of Nike joining two of its own products, the Air Force 1 and a military boot, rather than collaborating with an outside partner. It was sold at $200 in women's sizing.