HISTORY OF THE NIKE CORTEZ

The Nike Cortez: The First Icon.

In 1972, Nike’s guru, Bill Bowerman, knew that athletes needed a well-cushioned shoe that could take the punishment of 100 miles per week pounding the pavement. The first model was made with leather, but he figured out how to reduce the weight using upper of nylon – lightweight and quick drying – and suede, which holds the form of the toe without restricting the foot.

The Cortez introduced the first full-length, dual-density foam mid-sole for comfort and shock absorption, the denser foam thoughtfully placed where the foot needed it the most. A Herringbone rubber outsole completed the revolution.

And there it was, a Bowerman-designed running icon, casting a rapidly-moving shadow across the running world for years to come.

Lightweight.  Cushioning. Flexibility.  All woven into a DNA that was Nike’s birthright. 

The Cortez Fly Motion for 2009 and "Elastic Design."

But even icons evolve, better themselves, beat their old records. Global Design director Jesse Leyva dared revisit Bowerman’s masterpiece: and made it even better. Lighter.  More comfortable.  More flexible.

Introducing the Nike Cortez Fly Motion Shoe for 2009.

Still and always the Cortez, but now given better, stronger, faster wings by the Natural motion technology.  It’s Flywire-fused now –and that mean’s it’s got the technology developed for Nike’s highest performance track shoe, the Zoom Victory Spike, into the design.  Flywire is an ultra-strong, ultra-thin series of cables that proves that lighter can be stronger.  Wings can have muscles.  What can float free can also land with authority.

And behold yet another innovation: the one-piece upper, providing a cloaked comfort at a weight that would have been laughed off the blueprints twenty years ago.

“At Nike we have a fascination with one-piece uppers. We’ve done one-piece Air Force 1s and one-piece Dunks, but we always wanted to add more stability. Flywire finally allows us to design a high-performance shoe with one piece of material against the foot. This innovation not only adds comfort by removing anything that could cause a hotspot in the shoe, but also drastically reduces weight." --Global design director Jesse Leyva

Now, injected Phylon replaces the dual-density EVA midsole, making the Cortez lighter while keeping it stable.  A series of deep flex grooves were laser cut following the herringbone tread patter, allowing the Cortez the dual gifts of motion and lightness.

Two decades ago, impossible.  But much can happen in 20 years.

Records fall.  Crowds roar.  Gravity’s humiliation grows.  And a miracle shoe evolves.

That oversized swoosh, that upper nylon of suede, the look and feel still tells you the soul of Cortez rides within.  But it rides a little higher, a little stronger, and so do you.