Melitta Baumeister x Nike Air Rift Rocker 'Black'

Melitta Baumeister's second run at Nike footwear takes the Swoosh's oddest shoe and makes it stranger, and the Air Rift Rocker in Black is the darker half of the pair she built. The Air Rift arrived in 1996 with a split toe and a strap in place of laces, drawn from Kenyan distance runners and their barefoot training, and the designer has kept that skeleton while rebuilding everything around it.

Black leather covers the upper, broken up by speckled, grit-flecked panels across the toe and midfoot that give the whole thing a weathered, clay-dusted look. A wide hook-and-loop strap crosses the forefoot, a second wraps the ankle with co-branded detailing at the heel, and the split toe sits under a small Swoosh. Underneath, an oversized rocker sole swells out past the upper in matte black, a Swoosh cut into its sidewall and lugged traction running the length of the bottom.

The Melitta Baumeister x Nike Air Rift Rocker in Black is expected to release on November 12th at 15:00 UTC for $220 through Nike and select retailers, in women's sizes.

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