Nike Air Force 1 Jester XX

Air Force 1 Jester XX

The Nike Air Force 1 Jester XX has a fun, off-kilter design to match its name. Its outsole has the usual concentric circle tread, but the rest of the model is punctuated with uncommon features. Created specifically for women, it has a raised midsole, above which there is a mudguard with tight stitching around its top edge that circumnavigates the whole of the shoe. On the Violet Mist edition, which is purple all over, these three elements are all the same tone, while certain other designs have a variation in colour between them. One example of this is on the SE Laser Orange colourway, which has a black outsole, a white midsole and an off-white mudguard to go with its bright red and orange laces. The leather panels of the upper are stitched together into a flat surface, leaving clean straight lines that give it a smooth look. The only part that is overlaid is the eyestay, which retains a fairly conventional appearance. Meanwhile, the toe box contains perforations that are arranged into a geometric grid formation. Over the top of the foot, there is an AF1-etched lace lock which often takes the same tone as the laces it secures, such as on the Triple White model. Then there are sneakers like the Floral Print, whose transparent dubrae has grey laces threaded through it.

The swooshes of the Air Force 1 Jester XX look like they’re falling off the outer, with the lateral one slipping down over the midsole and the tail of the medial one tilting towards the same feature before disappearing into it. On each flank, a dotted line of tiny holes marks where the swoosh would normally be. The AF1 Jester XX’s heel panel has also dropped from its regular position and now lies at an odd angle, pointing down towards the medial side of each shoe at the edge of the midsole, with the heel strip reaching up to the collar behind it. Nike text and a swoosh are debossed into it, and more branding appears on the tag which would normally be on the tongue but now protrudes from where the lateral swoosh meets the heel panel of the Air Force 1 Jester XX. 

On most versions of this sneaker, the swooshes, heel panel and branded tag come in the same hue, one example of which is the Light Cream colourway, with its beige upper contrasting against the pale green on the other components. This is also true for the High model of the Nike Air Force 1 Jester XX, whose collar extends up and over the ankle and is secured with a Velcro-fastened strap that loops through the heel panel and wraps around the front of the shin. This strap features a hook-and-loop closure system with a metal ring that tends to be decorated in the same tone as certain other parts of the shoe. For example, on the Plum Chalk colourway, it is purple to match the mudguard, the swooshes and the heel panel while also contrasting with the pink upper. Apart from these differences, the high-top version has full Nike Air text debossed into its heel panel, but otherwise exhibits the same offbeat look as the Low. Many models of both the High and Low styles share one final feature that is printed onto the insole – an oval shape with Nike text and a swoosh alongside the words “Engineered for all day everyday comfort”, adding again to the remarkable look of this idiosyncratic women’s model.