Discover 14 Nike sneaker collaborations that honor the Waffle style.
All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. While it could be argued that it’s impossible to pinpoint just one Nike icon, an array of Nike sneaker collaborations—including Sacai’s futuristic take on the track shoe and Tom Sachs’s highly-anticipated General Purpose Shoe—championToday, sporting any Waffle iteration signals an “if you know, you know” wink, a nod to its 50-year-old genesis story.
I asked designer Susan Korn of Susan Alexandra, a Waffle wearer herself, to weigh in on the style’s role in our current fashion zeitgeist: “Really good design defies time, gender, and place. That’s what makes this shoe essential in everyone’s wardrobe.” She expands, “When I was growing up, my dad wore a pair of cobalt blue Waffles from the 1970s. Now, in my 30s, I want to emulate all of his insouciant styling.” Remaining relevant across generations and popular among sports and fashion communities alike, Nike’s most original style has stood the test of time while representing a sneaker story for the ages. The Waffle was first invented in 1971 at a breakfast table, where Nike co-founder and track & field coach Bill Bowerman was enjoying waffles with his wife. Upon observing his plate, Bowerman realized that the grooves in the waffle emulated an ideal mold for a grip suitable for multiple surfaces . Bill’s wife, Barbara, recalled in an interview within 2006: “As one of the waffles came out, he said, ‘You know, by turning it upside down, where the waffle part would come in contact with a track, I think that might work.’ So he got up from the table and went tearing into his lab and got two cans of whatever it is you pour together to make the urethane and poured them into the waffle iron.” After creating his first prototype, Bowerman tested his invention with his runners. The style then earned the name “Moon Shoe” in 1972 for the footprint it left resembled those of Apollo astronauts on the moon. Because the inventive outsole was so effective on multiple surfaces, the shoe was then adopted by other athletes, including football and baseball players. Later described by the brand as “an iconic silhouette served with a side of rebel soul,” the Waffle Trainer soon became the best-selling training shoe in the country and an emblem of innovation.are born from performance necessity, it doesn’t take long for style savants to recognize best-in-class craftsmanship and design expertise. Seth Weisser, a fashion historian and co-founder & CEO of What Goes Around Comes Around, shed light on the sneaker’s fast foray into the fashion world: “The Waffle changed the game in sport, so wearing them was a form of being ‘in the know’ of what was going on in culture.” Once the Waffle Trainer and Waffle Racer were established in 1973 and 1974, respectively, the style gradually gained street credibility. “Today, the Waffle’s classic, retro feel is a break from the current roster of running shoes,” Weisser explains. “It’s the OG for Nike in addition to later models like the blazer and then the Jordan series." The Waffle’s legacy proves that in a world of sneaker abundance, original is always better. Today, Nike’s Holy Grail, the Bowerman’s waffle iron, resides at the Nike headquarters along with a handful of Bill’s handmade shoe treads. Half a century after its contribution to sneaker folklore, a story of imagination, inventiveness, and style so cool it might cause you to stop a stranger on the street, lives on. Here are the Nike sneaker collaborations that honor the Waffle as the street style comeback shoe that never actually left.
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