You will have seen them in influencers, shop windows and Instagram ads and that can only mean one thing: that the Nike Blazer Mid 77 are the undisputed queen of retro sneakers. Although we have seen that sports shoes have gained ground over other types of footwear in terms of lifestyle, we can consider these Nike shoes as a style benchmark when it comes to combining the formal with the casual.
Created in 1973, these shoes were launched as a basketball boot, in a design very similar to the current one. Today, not only can we see how its original design has been recovered , with the Nike symbol in red, black or blue, we also see that the brand is committed to bringing out new designs for one of its most iconic sneakers.
Beginnings of the Nike Blazer Mid
The Nike Blazer Mid was born in 1973 and was conceived as a shoe with which to play basketball . Although it was not the first model with which Nike launched into the world of basketball. Before the Blazer Mid were the Nike Bruien, a cult object among nostalgic lovers of Back to the Future, since they were the ones worn by Michael J Fox . Although those shoes were designed for amateur players and were not even high-tops.
From those original Nike Bruins came the Nike Blazer, designed specifically for basketball professionals. The shoe featured a leather upper, a nylon mesh tongue, and a textured vulcanized rubber outsole, the sole of choice for basketball shoes in the early 1970s. Despite technological efforts, the Blazer Mid they did not finish convincing the basketball players . But everything changed in 1978 when George Iceman Gervin started wearing them while playing for the San Antonio Spurs.
From denial to mass phenomenon
Nothing in its complex beginnings foreshadowed that the Nike Blazer Mid would be a mass phenomenon. Now that basketball shoes have nothing to do with the designs of fifty years ago, the Nike Blazer Mid reclaims its space on the street. And not only do they claim it, they know how to carve out their niche and they hardly have any competitors.
The Nike Blazer Mid enjoy success thanks to its simple and functional design, but also to its attractive price. Despite being leather shoes, they cost 100 euros. In addition, in recent years some exclusive firms have wanted to collaborate with Nike to give their own vision of the model, such as Virgil Abloh or the Japanese brand Sacai. That together with the own reinterpretations of the product that the brand itself makes.
New designs to revitalize a classic
If the most classic have the Nike symbol in blue, black or red, the brand has opted to add colors such as yellow or orange, and even the possibility of making your own combinations through its website. The classic model has been joined this summer by a proposal in more summery tones, such as white and gold, on a white mesh, with the toe cap and heel label in metallic .
Another of the bets that the firm has made has been the recently released Nike Blazer Mid Vintage 77 Red & Blue, a new edition that presents substantial differences with the original, such as the brand’s logo in snakeskin or the combination of red and the blue.
Like any classic icon, theBlazer Mid have inspired multiple sneakers and there is a Nike for every taste or preference. Although the classics will always be those with the logo in blue, black or red, they will always combine with any style, especially with that of the most nostalgic and vintage lovers.
