Cortez "OG"

The Nike Cortez occupies a specific place in the origin story of American running footwear. Designed by Bill Bowerman and originally released in 1972, it was among the first shoes to carry the Nike name after the company split from its previous distribution partnership with Onitsuka Tiger. The shoe had existed in an earlier form under that partnership, and the transition brought legal disputes over design ownership that would define early Nike’s identity as a brand fighting to establish itself.

Bowerman’s background as a track coach at the University of Oregon shaped his approach to the Cortez. He was preoccupied with reducing the weight runners carried on their feet while maintaining enough cushioning to protect against impact, and the Cortez reflected that thinking through a relatively low-profile build and a foam midsole construction that was considered forward-thinking for its time.

The OG colorway presents the shoe in a clean white leather upper with a red and blue heel tab and a red Swoosh, a combination that reads as both restrained and immediately recognizable. The color blocking aligns closely with the red, white, and blue palette that characterized early Nike branding and helped give the shoe a distinctly American character during a period when the brand was still building recognition. The leather construction gives the upper a structured, substantial feel that later nylon and suede iterations moved away from.

The Cortez has since accumulated a cultural footprint well beyond running, appearing in film and street contexts across multiple decades. That continued visibility owes something to the clarity of the original design, which Bowerman completed without concessions to fashion that might have dated it more quickly.