Bollywood Actresses wearing affordable NIKE shoe. "NIKE CORTEZ"

6.12.21

Whenever you heard the word Nike, the very first silhouette or model that would probably arise in your thoughts will be JORDAN 1 or AIR FORCE 1 or AIR MAX, well I agree that these shoes have pretty much become iconic at this point. But there is one UNSUNG HERO that deserves equivalent respect as like the other mentioned models of NIKE. So on that note I will tell you about NIKE CORTEZ, the shoe which has so much of history attached to it. Let’s get started.

HOW NIKE CORTEZ CAME TO LIFE ?

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BillBowerman was an American Track and field coach and also a co-founder of NIKE. PhilKnight and Bill Bowerman, met during their time at the University of Oregon, Together they created Blue Ribbon Sports, a precursor to Nike, in 1964. In the initial stage, Blue Ribbon Sports served as sneaker importers and distributors, as Bowerman and Knight’s company was an American supplier of Japan’s Onitsuka Tiger (which would later become Asics) products.

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In the year 1966, Bowerman came up with a new shoe design for Onitsuka Tiger after applying his knowledge and experience in track field. So that year they released shoe with new designs and named it TG-24.

TG-24 was marketed as marathon shoe by Onitsuka Tiger and Blue Ribbon Sports. The shoe was made up of SWOOSH Fiber, spongy midsole ideal for absorption and reducing soreness. The shoe’s raised heel would also eliminate strain on legs. It would be lighter and more durable than leather, well ventilated, moisture resistant, comfy and cool.

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In 1968 summer Olympics, Onitsuka Tiger and Blue Ribbon Sports decided to rename TG-24 to TG-MEXICO. As both the companies thought it would be the best marketing strategy to increase their sales margins. Later Onitsuka tiger again wanted to change the name, this time to Aztec.

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As the name Aztec was announced. Here they arrive, Rival company “ADIDAS” raised voice against it. Adidas was on the path of promoting its Azteca Gold track shoe at the time and thought the TG-Aztec too closely resembled their Azteca name. Due to all this, Onitsuka Tiger and Bowerman decided to name the shoe as “CORTEZ”. This name was an homage to the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes who, ironically, led an expedition which caused the fall of the Aztec Empire in the 1500s.

With its excellent performance in the Olympics. The Cortez quickly became the best-selling shoe in the history of both Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger. And for that very reason it quickly became a reason for split between Onitsuka Tiger and Blue Ribbon Sports.

pic source - Reddit.

Therefore in 1971, Knight and Bowerman officially changed the name from Blue Ribbon Sports to Nike and by the year 1972 had released their own version of the Nike Cortez, which kept Bowerman’s original design but added the new Nike Swoosh in place of the original Onitsuka webbing along the side. The Cortez was the first track shoe released under the Nike banner and quickly became an silhouette of the company moving forward. This way Nike CORTEZ came to life.

pic source - Pinterest.

POPULARITY IN FASHION INDUSTRY.

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Its actually insane that how quickly NIKE CORTEZ has become a major hit into fashion industry. From TV artist to international rappers and music artists. The sneaker reached another level of the pop culture stratusphere with the release of 1994’s Forrest Gump, which would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and cement its lead, Tom Hanks, as one of the biggest actors on the planet. Since than the shoe has reached into the category of iconic silhouette.