Nike Air Flight Huarache: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

Nike throws it back to the 1990s again on Wednesday with an underrated classic that is tied to the Air Jordan line, Nike running and a famed college basketball squad that broke into pop culture. Of course, I’m talking about the Air Flight Huarache, which drops on June 7 for a retail price of $125.

Right off the bat, you can tell which famous sneakers this shoe is a sibling of. You definitely see elements of the Nike Air Huarache running shoe, with the plastic cage, neoprene bootie, multiple lace holes and bold 1990s styling. At the same time, you definitely see similarities to the Air Jordan 7, which also initially released in 1992, especially thanks the ankle area with it’s cut-out area similar in shape to MJ’s seventh signature sneaker. Obviously, the Air Jordan 7 features some leather thrown in rather than the full cut-out seen here, but the shape and again in the inner bootie are shared traits.

It’s understandable why all three shoes share similarities, as all were designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield. It’s also worth noting that the shoe was co-designed by another Nike design legend, Eric Avar. That’s especially poetic as the Air Flight Huarache was worn by Kobe Bryant during his sneaker free agency in 2003 and Avar would go on to be the main designer on Kobe’s line of sneakers. There are even rumors that a Kobe PE-inspired colorway of the Air Flight Huarache could be coming out later this year.

The shoe is also synonymous with Michigan’s Fab Five. The Fab Five — Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson — not only brought it on the court, but they were early tastemakers, introducing things like black socks, black shoes, baggy shorts and swagger to the buttoned-up world of college hoops. The group had an impact beyond the world of college basketball and even got the documentary treatment in 2011 from ESPN with The Fab Five.

In terms of Wednesday’s release, we’re getting an OG colorway in the Varsity Purple and Royal Blue. The shoe features all the classic Huarache elements above — neoprene bootie, plastic cage on the heel, Nike Air on the back, cut-out at the ankle — plus Nike says on SNKRS that the shoe has been updated with Air in the heel AND forefoot, which it says brings the “iconic design into the future.” In addition to the hits of royal and purple, the shoe also features a predominantly white upper with a white midsole. The outsole features royal and purple hues plus a small hit of green because of course it does — this shoe was birthed in the 1990s.

This colorway previously retroed in 2014 and currently has an average sale price of $276 on StockX, which represents a 161% price premium, on 18 sales. A white Kobe/Lakers-inspired colorway dropped in 2015 and currently has an average sale price on StockX of $301 on 13 sales, which represents a 291% price premium. It’s been a minute since these have been available to the masses, so it will be interesting to see how popular they are and whether they move the needle.

Best of luck to all looking to pick up a pair!

To see more of this month’s releases, check out our release date calendar.