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Nike Cortez

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Nike Cortez
Nike Cortez

Nike

Cortez

Bill Bowerman’s timeless classic.

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Nike Cortez HF0100-400
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Light Armory Blue"
  • £47
Nike Cortez 23 Premium FB6877-001
  • Nike
  • Cortez 23 Premium
  • "Black & Sail"
  • £81.99
Nike Cortez Textile HM9987-001
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Phantom & Black"
  • £77.95
Nike Cortez FQ8108-110
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Pale Ivory & Deep Royal Blue"
  • £63
Nike Cortez 23 Premium FB6877-100
  • Nike
  • Cortez 23 Premium
  • "Triple White"
  • £81.99
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-702
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Yellow Ochre & Gorge Green"
  • £70
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-701
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Infinite Gold & Game Royal"
  • £77.95
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-002
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Light Pumice & Metallic Silver"
  • £77.95
Nike Cortez TXT DZ2795-001
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Black & White"
  • £58.99
Nike Cortez DN1791-100
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "White & Black"
  • £45
Nike Cortez Textile HJ9612-800
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Safety Orange & Life Lime"
  • £77.95
Nike Cortez Vintage FJ2530-001
  • Nike
  • Cortez Vintage
  • "Black & Coconut Milk"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez TXT DZ2795-600
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Team Red"
  • £42
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-401
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Glacier Blue"
  • £77.95
Nike Cortez DN1791-200
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Sesame"
  • £63.99
Nike Cortez DN1791-102
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "University Blue"
  • £55.99
Nike Cortez DM4044-001
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Black & White"
  • £79.49
Nike Cortez Leather HJ9343-100
  • Nike
  • Cortez Leather
  • "Olympic"
  • £89.95
Nike Cortez TXT HF9994-600
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Medium Soft Pink"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez TXT HF9994-300
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Watermelon"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez Textile ‘Satin Pack’ FV5420-600
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile ‘Satin Pack’
  • "Medium Soft Pink"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez Textile ‘Satin Pack’ FV5420-002
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile ‘Satin Pack’
  • "Triple Black"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez Premium FJ5465-010
  • Nike
  • Cortez Premium
  • "Triple Black"
  • £90.49
Nike Cortez Vintage Suede FJ2530-301
  • Nike
  • Cortez Vintage Suede
  • "Vintage Green & Muslin"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez Vintage FJ2530-300
  • Nike
  • Cortez Vintage
  • "Chlorophyll"
  • £74.99
Nike Cortez Vintage Suede FJ2530-102
  • Nike
  • Cortez Vintage Suede
  • "Summit White & Muslin"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez Vintage FJ2530-100
  • Nike
  • Cortez Vintage
  • "Muslin & Viotech"
  • £63.99
Nike Cortez TXT DZ2795-700
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Vivid Sulfur"
  • £66.49
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-602
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Beyond Pink & Blue Void"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez DZ2795-601
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Picante Red"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-500
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Court Purple"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-402
  • Nike
  • Cortez Textile
  • "Royal Pulse & Fir"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez TXT DZ2795-400
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Midnight Navy"
  • £79.99
Nike Cortez TXT DZ2795-300
  • Nike
  • Cortez TXT
  • "Fir"
  • £74.99
Nike Cortez Leather DN1791-108
  • Nike
  • Cortez Leather
  • "Forrest Gump"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez DN1791-104
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Sail & Cacao Wow"
  • £84.95
Nike Cortez DN1791-001
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Black & White"
  • £79.49
Nike Cortez DM4044-400
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Midnight Navy"
  • £63
Nike Cortez DM4044-105
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "White & Black"
  • £89.99
Nike Cortez DM4044-100
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "White & Black"
  • £63.99
Nike Cortez EasyOn DM0951-104
  • Nike
  • Cortez EasyOn
  • "White & Laser Fuchsia"
  • £44.99
Nike Cortez DM0950-105
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Lakers"
  • £54.99
Nike Cortez DM0950-104
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "White & Laser Fuchsia"
  • £54.99
Nike Classic Cortez Leather 749571-154
  • Nike
  • Classic Cortez Leather
  • "Forrest Gump"
  • £85
Nike Cortez HF6410-666
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Light Soft Pink"
Nike Cortez HF0118-300
  • Nike
  • Cortez
  • "Dusty Cactus & Lightning"
Nike Cortez '23 FD2013-100
  • Nike
  • Cortez '23
  • "Light Orewood Brown & Earth"
Nike Cortez Textile DZ2795-200
  • 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.

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