'Dubrae’ was originally coined in 1994 by Nike designer Damon Clegg while presenting his design for an ACG boot. He realised he had no name to describe the boot’s ornamental lace tag, and so referred to it as a ‘doobrie’ – ‘thingamajig’ in Scottish slang. Nick had picked up the term from his Glaswegian roommate in college. However, those in attendance took ‘doobrie’ as a technical term – and it stuck (hence why you'll often see it spelled as though it's a French word, but ain't nothing fancy about straight-up Glaswegian lingo!).

The dubrae was formally introduced in the 2006 catalogue for the Air Force 1 Retro, and is now one of the most recognised features on an Air Force 1.