Nike Cortez
146 articlesThe shoe that started it all.
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Light Armory Blue"
- £47
- Nike
- Cortez 23 Premium
- "Black & Sail"
- £81.99
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Phantom & Black"
- £77.95
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Pale Ivory & Deep Royal Blue"
- £63
- Nike
- Cortez 23 Premium
- "Triple White"
- £81.99
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Yellow Ochre & Gorge Green"
- £70
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Infinite Gold & Game Royal"
- £77.95
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Light Pumice & Metallic Silver"
- £77.95
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Black & White"
- £58.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "White & Black"
- £45
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Safety Orange & Life Lime"
- £77.95
- Nike
- Cortez Vintage
- "Black & Coconut Milk"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Team Red"
- £42
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Glacier Blue"
- £77.95
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Sesame"
- £63.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "University Blue"
- £55.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Black & White"
- £79.49
- Nike
- Cortez Leather
- "Olympic"
- £89.95
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Medium Soft Pink"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Watermelon"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez Textile ‘Satin Pack’
- "Medium Soft Pink"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez Textile ‘Satin Pack’
- "Triple Black"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez Premium
- "Triple Black"
- £90.49
- Nike
- Cortez Vintage Suede
- "Vintage Green & Muslin"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez Vintage
- "Chlorophyll"
- £74.99
- Nike
- Cortez Vintage Suede
- "Summit White & Muslin"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez Vintage
- "Muslin & Viotech"
- £63.99
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Vivid Sulfur"
- £66.49
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Beyond Pink & Blue Void"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Picante Red"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Court Purple"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Royal Pulse & Fir"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Midnight Navy"
- £79.99
- Nike
- Cortez TXT
- "Fir"
- £74.99
- Nike
- Cortez Leather
- "Forrest Gump"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Sail & Cacao Wow"
- £84.95
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Black & White"
- £79.49
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Midnight Navy"
- £63
- Nike
- Cortez
- "White & Black"
- £89.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "White & Black"
- £63.99
- Nike
- Cortez EasyOn
- "White & Laser Fuchsia"
- £44.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Lakers"
- £54.99
- Nike
- Cortez
- "White & Laser Fuchsia"
- £54.99
- Nike
- Classic Cortez Leather
- "Forrest Gump"
- £85
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Light Soft Pink"
- Nike
- Cortez
- "Dusty Cactus & Lightning"
- Nike
- Cortez '23
- "Light Orewood Brown & Earth"
- Nike
- Cortez Textile
- "Baroque Brown"
Cortez
In 1964, Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight set up a shoe distribution company called Blue Ribbon Sports. While Knight was more business-minded, as a coach, Bowerman was a budding shoe designer who often modified running spikes for the athletes he trained, and in the late 60s, he crafted a new model for their Japanese partner brand, Onitsuka Tiger.
Known as the TG-24, but soon renamed to the Cortez, the running shoe was based on Bowerman’s footwear experiments and his knowledge of Onitsuka’s other models. He designed it with great cushioning to support runners, and it quickly became popular for its performance capabilities. Both companies benefited from its success, but in the early 70s, Bowerman and Knight decided to rebrand Blue Ribbon Sports and begin producing their own footwear under the Nike banner.
The pair decided to use Bowerman’s popular Cortez design as its first release – a move opposed by Onitsuka. Following a three-year legal battle, Nike was finally granted shared access to the shoe but sole access to the name, and the Nike Cortez officially became the brand’s debut silhouette.
Bowerman used his footwear expertise to improve the durability and comfort of the Cortez and his sporting connections to attract the endorsement of charismatic distance runner Steve Prefontaine. Meanwhile, Knight launched an effective marketing campaign that drove the shoe’s popularity. He was also responsible for the now-iconic Nike swoosh after employing the graphic design skills of Carolyn Davidson. It became a powerful symbol of the Nike Cortez, giving it a unique style and distinguishing it from the competition at the same time.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the Cortez transcended sport through memorable television moments and on-stage appearances, which encouraged more people to choose it as a stylish lifestyle sneaker. Soon, it spread across the United States on the feet of everyone from East Coast b-boys to West Coast gang members.
Its success continued into the 90s, when it was worn by Whitney Houston during her performance at Super Bowl XXV and Tom Hanks in the Oscar-winning movie Forrest Gump. At the beginning of the 2000s, despite being surrounded by much more modern silhouettes, the humble Cortez was often chosen as a collaborative template. Significant partnerships developed with tattoo artist Mister Cartoon, streetwear brand Undefeated and rapper Kendrick Lamar, amongst others, and the shoe made more notable appearances in popular culture, including in the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
By its 50th anniversary in 2022, the Nike Cortez had become a global fashion icon and was considered a classic shoe in mainstream and alternative cultures alike. Despite its age, it remains one of Nike’s flagship lifestyle silhouettes as its timeless design continues to influence the sneaker world to this day.