Nike Zoom Vapor Rf 287 'Roger Federer'
Colorway: Black/Gold · Style code: 582917-070 · Release date: July 16, 2012 · Price: $2461 · Availability: Available now
Federer's hold on the top ranking is the record this shoe is counting. He finished with 310 weeks at world number one, including a stretch of 237 consecutive weeks that no one has approached, alongside twenty major singles titles (among them a record eight at Wimbledon and a joint Open Era record five in New York).
The number on the shoe marks a specific week in that run rather than the total, and Nike priced the shoe to match it: $287, which is either a good joke or a straightforward one depending on how you feel about round numbers.
The build is a tennis shoe rather than a commemorative object. Black leather over matching mesh underlays keeps it breathable; the lacing is integrated into the upper with leather reinforcement at the eyelets rather than sitting on a separate eyestay. Metallic gold picks out the side swoosh, the tongue branding, the laces and the Zoom midsole, his own logo sits on the tongue, and 287 is embossed into the side profile. It is dated July 2012.