Nike Air Foamposite One Supreme Black

A shell shoe is furniture, so dress simply around it. Wear it with black tapered sweatpants and a black hoodie so the moulded shape is the only geometry in the outfit, or with dark straight leg denim and a heavy black jacket for a colder weather version with more structure. It suits street wear and evenings, and it will not disappear into anything, which is the point. Fit is unforgiving because the shell does not stretch, so try before you commit and consider a half size up for wide feet. Dust with a microfibre cloth, use a barely damp cloth for marks, and never take a stiff brush to the shell.

Foamposite belongs to the era when Nike's basketball product had become culture rather than equipment. The 1984 Michael Jordan signing and the Spike Lee directed Mars Blackmon advertising made Nike the shoe of basketball and, through basketball, of hip hop, and from the 1980s onward its models were status symbols in urban fashion and staples of mainstream American youth dress. A moulded, expensive, instantly recognisable shoe was perfect for that economy of attention. Adding a collaborator with independent credibility is the modern extension of the same logic, and Nike's institutional grip stayed intact throughout: it has been official uniform supplier to the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League since 2017.

A moulded shell is the defining feature, which changes everything about how the shoe behaves. It does not crease the way leather does, it holds its shape on a shelf, and it takes a scratch instead of a scuff, which means damage is permanent rather than cosmetic. In black the shell shows fingerprints and dust more than dents. Nike Air, the pressurised gas unit sealed into the midsole, does the cushioning work underneath. Practically, a shell upper needs breaking in around the entry and does not soften much afterwards, so fit matters more here than on almost any other Nike, and thin socks change the feel noticeably.