Bode Is Reviving a Long-Forgotten Nike Football Shoe
Photographs: Bode; Collage: Gabe Conte
In 1974, Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman ushered in one of the upstart shoe company’s first marquee models: the Nike Astro Grabber, a state-of-the-art football shoe that followed on the heels of their hugely successful Waffle Trainer and was designed to improve grip and traction on astroturf, which had recently become widely adopted in the sport. Worn on the field by Dan Fouts—the University of Oregon quarterback, future NFL Hall of Famer, and one of Nike's first star athletes—the simple black-and-white cleat offered the Swoosh inroads into a new realm, a key step in its journey to becoming the dominant athletics brand of our time.
Nike quietly retired the Astro Grabber as further evolutions were introduced into the market, and it’s never issued a retro re-release of the seminal model. That’s about to change. An upcoming collaboration between the Oregon sportswear giant and New York-based fashion label Bode is set to revive the long-lost silhouette, drudging the forgotten Astro Grabber out from the recesses of obscurity and back into the spotlight. Bode has made its name on handcrafted luxury statement pieces with a nostalgic, one-of-a-kind style, so it makes sense that the brand would look to the unfussy, old-fashioned aesthetic of this vintage Nike shoe.
Not much is known yet about the collaboration, but it was recently confirmed after months of speculation by the release of campaign imagery for the new Bode Fall/Winter 2024 collection, which goes by the name Bode Recreation. The black-and-white kicks, strongly reminiscent of the originals, appear to be a high-quality update to the waffle-soled classic, wrapped in jet black leather with an enormous white Swoosh along the sides. (As far as we can tell from these early photos, they don’t include cleats.) Bode seems to have redesigned the Astro Grabber for the streets rather than astroturf, rejuvenating the old model while still paying tribute to the sneaker’s tried-and-true football roots. We’d say the combination of brand and classic sneaker is a perfect fit.
She exploded onto the fashion scene and seemingly changed the way men dress overnight. But Emily Adams Bode Aujla’s brand is not just lace shirts and patchwork pants. It’s about thinking of clothes as heirlooms—and building a family business that will last.
Originally Appeared on GQ
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