Air Max, Air Jordan, Air Force 1, Cortez are among the all-time favourite lines of Nike shoes that have gained the public spotlight for decades. The Nike Cortez is now a 47 years old running-inspired footwear.

Bill Bowerman was a track and field coach who is also a co-founder of Nike. In 1966, he worked with Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese footwear company to design a running-inspired shoe that checked all the boxes of everything athletes need in a running shoe. Bill focused on designing the upper to be more aerodynamic which in return will reduce drag and boost running speed and swift movement. Other details he considered are the continuous foam midsole and the herringbone pattern on the outsole. The shoe was named Onitsuka TG-24 at that period.

Before Bill and his partner, Phil Knight, founded Nike Inc, they usually imported performance-ready shoes from Japan to the US under their Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS) company which was opened in 1964. In 1966, Bowerman ordered 300 pairs of the shoe which sold out quickly. 1967 was the year preceding the Olympic games year which would be held in Mexico. So, to make the shoe more market-friendly, the legendary track and field coach changed the name of the shoe to “Mexico”.

The shoe became very popular among athletes as the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico approached. As a result, Onitsuka Tiger and BRS decided to name the shoe Aztec to pay homage to the Mexican lineage and Aztec empire. However, the name did not last long as Adidas already name one of their newly released shoes Adidas Azteca Gold which was proved too close to the name Aztec. Bowerman and his team had no option than to go in search of a new name. The shoe was later named after Hernan Cortes, the Spanish Conquistador who led a team to defeat the Aztec empire in the early 16th century. BRS chose the name Cortez and TG-24 Cortez became the best-selling running shoe. The shoe also functioned beyond running. It became a popular shoe for jogging, lifestyle and casual running.

On the 30th of May, 1971, Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight changed their company’s name to Nike Inc to launch their line of shoes. At that time, Nike Cortez was born. And Nike relationship with Onitsuka Tiger was coming to an end. The two brands fought over who would own the right to the “Cortez” name. After a year-long battle, a court finally ruled in favour of Nike in 1974. The decision led Onitsuka Tiger to rebrand the shoe and named it “Tiger Corsair”. By the way, Tiger Corsair is still a popular shoe till today.

Over the years Nike Cortez has evolved into a lighter and better shoe for athletes and non-athletes. In 1973, Nike released the Nike Leather Cortez featuring the Swoosh logo on its side. To develop the lightest running shoe, the Nike team developed lightweight nylon construction on the upper instead of leather in 1975. The Nike Nylon Cortez was released in classic white and blue colourways. Nike Senorita Cortez was a women version of the footwear which was released in 1976. It was worn by the Actress Farrah Fawcett in the TV show, Charlie’s Angel. After she was seen by fans wearing the shoe in the “Consenting Adults” episode, the Senorita Cortez sale quickly went uphill.

As one of Nike collaborators, Sir Elton John boosted the popularity of the Nike Cortez by introducing it to the music world in one of his concerts in 1980. The shoe was also a favourite kick for many break-dancers in the 80s. The Cortez was also featured in the movie Forrest Gump as a gift to the man himself (Forrest Gump) from his soul mate Jennie. Another movie in which the shoe is featured is the tv series, Seinfeld. The shoe was part of George Costanza uniform.

There have been many collaborations that had led to the release of various colourways of Nike Cortez. One of the most recent collaborations is with Kendrick Lamar, a musician and rapper. The collaboration with Kendrick led to the release of Kendrick Lamar x Nike Cortez 1, Kendrick Lamar x Nike Cortez Kenny III, Kendrick Lamar x Nike Cortez “Kung Fu Kenny” and Nike x Kendrick Lamar Cortez Basic Slip.