Nike Air Foamposite One “Eggplant”: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

A futuristic blast from the past is set to return on Thursday, as Nike drops the “Eggplant” colorway of the Air Foamposite One for a retail price of $240.

The Air Foamposite One is striking and stands out for a number of reasons. It is not technically a signature shoe, but does carry Penny Hardaway’s 1 Cent logo on the back heel. The shoe was originally intended for Scottie Pippen, but the story goes that Eric Avar went to meet with Penny to design his next sneaker and had the foams in his bag and they caught the attention of Penny.

“The Foamposite sample was the last thing left in the bag and I hadn’t even taken it out because all the voices had gotten in my head and I was almost embarrassed,” Avar told Nike’s website. “So we’re just finishing up and Penny looks over and says, ‘What’s that in the bag?’ I almost hesitated to take it out, but I did and he grabbed it, and just goes, ‘What is this?!’ I said it’s this concept we’re working on. He just stopped me right there, and said ‘That’s it. I want that to be my next shoe.’”

Penny told his version of the story to Complex’s Joe La Puma in 2023 on his popular “Sneaker Shopping” YouTube series.

The shoe likely caught Penny’s attention because of its unique upper, which is made out of liquid polyurethane shell. Over time and with repeated wearing, the upper molds to your feet and offers a glove-like fit. The Foamposite One also features carbon fiber, Zoom Air and a translucent outsole, but thanks to the upper it is also quite heavy. Also heavy? The shoe’s price. Originally retailing for $180, the shoe now retails for $240, which is certainly an elevated price point for a shoe nearing its 30th anniversary.

The Foamposite One was hit from its debut on the hardwood, synonymous with Penny and the eventual National Champion Arizona Wildcats in the OG Royal colorway. The model saw a resurgence in the mid-2010s, with such notable colorways as the ParaNorman and the Galaxys, but Nike got a bit greedy and flooding the marketplace may have eroded the specialness of the model, leading to a bit of a downturn.

Meanwhile, the colorway releasing on Thursday is the Eggplant colorway, which first debuted in 2009 and is said to have perhaps taken inspiration from the Nike Flightposite. The iridescent Eggplant purple wavy polyurethane shell dominates the upper, with a small Nike Swoosh in the same color near the toe and Penny’s 1 Cent logo on the heel. The purple accents continue on the black tongue as well as the 1 Cent logo on the outsole. Speaking of the outsole, it is semi-translucent with a carbon fiber shank also visible.

As noted above, the Eggplant Foamposite Ones first released in 2009 and that release currently has an average price of $307 at StockX on 12 sales, good for a price premium of 38 percent. The 2017 retro, the most recent release of this colorway, currently has an average price of $323 on 66 sales, while the 2024 edition has made its way to the platform and has an average price of $260 on 524 sales.

The colorway has inspired other models, such as the Air Force 1 High Foamposite Eggplant and the Foamdome. The Foamposite One may not be as popular as it was at its peak, but there should still be solid demand for this colorway. Best of luck to all looking to pick up a pair!