Welcome to this week's edition of KSM, this week we feature the Nike Cortez. The Nike Cortez was one of the company's first designs back in 1966 and eventually named the "Cortez" in 1968. To many people the Nike Cortez is commonly associated with Nike's "Casual" shoe line but this couldn't be further from its roots. The legend, Bill Bowerman first came up with the design of the "Cortez" back in 1966 as one of Nike's first runners. The shoe which featured a ripstop nylon upper and jagged edged sole was simple and efficient. The shoe itself may not appear to be very revolutionary today but back in 1968 where all shoes were relatively flat, this shoe was definitely groundbreaking and iconic.
In today's marketplace this shoe is no longer seen on the track but seen commonly on the streets as a staple in L.A.'s East Side. Very similar to one of it's main competitors, Converse's Chuck Taylors, both shoes no longer carry that allure as a performance shoe but rather as fashion shoe for casual wear.
Back in the mid 90's, the Cortez experienced a resurgence in the North American market. The shoe was reintroduced into the market and had some help from Hollywood when it was featured as the shoe of choice for the Academy Awarded film, Forrest Gump. I can still remember very vividly that these were the shoe to rock at the time. The shoe was also a fan favourite because of the price point that they were being offered at. When you can cop a shoe for just under 100 CAD with the style that it has, how can you really go wrong? For this, we salute you Mr. Bowerman!
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