The iconic Nike Cortez wouldn't exist without Kenny Moore, a former Oregon track star who became Nike's first product tester 52 years ago.
As the story goes, Moore suffered a broken foot in 1965, leading his coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman to take a closer look at his sneakers. What he discovered was that Moore was running in a high-jump shoe and not a proper running model, which sparked the idea to design one for him. Through various stages of testing that would last into the fall, Bowerman crafted the shoe which became known as the Cortez with direct input from Moore—the shoe was actually designed to prevent him from future breaks. Read a more detailed account of this story at nike.com.
Continuing to dig into the deepest part of its archive, Nike remembers Moore and Bowerman's vision by recreating Bowerman's original handmade sneaker. The Nike Cortez "Kenny Moore Collection" will release on Aug. 25 on the SNKRS app and select Nike retailers.
Nike Cortez "Kenny Moore"
Release Date: 08/25/17