story

"Designing the shoe, I wanted to give a little piece of me in different ways, so I incorporated a little bit of my family into design and just a little bit of me. My name's Jennifer Ford. I'm the owner of Premium Goods in Houston, Texas."

"My job is to curate an experience in which you can shop for sneakers and fashion in one place. I designed the Premium Goods Air Force 1 "Bella" and "Sophia"."

"My name is Calum Snow. I am a Product Manager for Global Nike Footwear collaborations."

"Jen came with a real sharp vision. She knew exactly what the story was that she wanted to tell, and it kind of goes back to her beginnings. In the beginning, this design process had me question myself..."

"...and anything that people create, there's always little pieces of them in it that they're telling their story through. And I wanted to make sure that I did that in the design of this shoe."

"My heritage is Creole, and one thing Creoles are known for is our gumbo. Gumbo is made with three key ingredients, but after that, it's just a mixture of things that are savory and good to make it better. This same process was done with the designing of our Air Force 1."

"I took all the key ingredients of the things in my life, whether it be my experience in the jewelry industry, my love for luxury, and just little pieces of my family to create this beautiful shoe."

"The goal of this project was to really kind of go back into where Jen started. She really wanted to kind of tell the story about her path to where she is now."

"This sneaker represents anyone who wants to look stylish and feel comfortable and feel beautiful and luxurious. Has no gender and has no face. It's just something to put on and make you feel like you deserve it."

"The night before my first call with the design team for Nike, I could not sleep. I had so many thoughts in my head that I knew in the moment I wasn't going to be able to express it..."

"...so I created a deck of just things that it was important to me to be seen in the shoe.She came with a really clear point of view..."

"...the premium nature of the shoe. Really beautiful leathers, the beading on the Swoosh and the back tab, the satin lining, along with visuals about ideas that were going to inform the visual center and how it all comes to life."

"Details in anything you do matter. It takes it to its great place and paying attention to them is very important. I'd like to think that both of these shoes are a gift from me and from Premium Goods to the lover of Air Forces."

"So, putting little small things that every time you put on this shoe that you notice made a big difference to me. With that being said, any chance that I had to put an extra detail on it without overdoing it was important."

"And that to me, or like little things, whether it be the stars on the side, the little bit of quilting, the rose on the dubrae, or just the gold lace tips. Every little thing should be one more thing that you notice each time you put the shoe on."

"It was intentional for me to put a sense of softness into the Air Force I designed. Air Forces traditionally have not been a shoe promoted or worn by women, until recently."

"The softness to me was just a little added touch to let her know that there is something out there for her. I'm just proud about this whole team kind of rallying around Jen and her narrative to bring it together."

"I think there was a lot of things that were really difficult to accomplish with this shoe, and as a team, just like with any project as a team, we came together to make sure that we could really make sure she was proud of her first Nike collaboration."

Behind the Design: Premium Goods x Nike Air Force 1