words // Nick DePaula:
As the Women’s National Basketball Association was launching under the NBA umbrella during the summer of 1997, it was only right that Sheryl Swoopes became the first player to officially join the newly founded female counterpart professional league.
Long dubbed the “Women’s Jordan,” Swoopes was the first face of the Women’s Association, similarly scoring on opponents in bunches like Mike, while gracefully embodying the competitiveness of the league.
She was, unmistakably, Her Airness.
Then too, was it only right that Sheryl became the first woman to have her own signature shoe, a groundbreaking moment in the athletic industry, following in the literal footsteps of the Air Jordan franchise.
Of course, by that point female players were often sizing down into Men’s models, which had a wider shape without their foot type in mind. To solve all of Sheryl’s performance needs and inject her own sense of style, the Air Swoopes was fittingly also designed by a woman, Marni Gerber.
“She was not a girly girl,” says Gerber, now Nike’s Senior Design Director all these years later. “She was tough and needed her shoe to be agile and responsive, so that is what we designed.”
The shoe featured a boldly blocked midfoot strap, providing lockdown for Swoopes’ explosiveness and drives, while also giving the sneaker an iconic look from afar, in arenas and on TV. Sheryl would debut her first signature sneaker on a global stage, during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
“It was inspired by Sheryl’s tenacity and her desire to be in the face of her competition,” Gerber continues. “I went to Lubbock, Texas to see her life, her family and friends. She was a tough girl with a sweet side.”
That toughness was personified by the customizable strap, along with the supportive collar silhouette, rugged rubber outsole and Nike Air cushioning units in both the heel and forefoot.
From the onset, it was clear that the Swoopes line would look to innovate through modern designs, but not only have women in mind. Flipping the script, and seeing men seek the sneakers out, was an added bonus and yet another symbol of the Swoopes success.
All these years later, the impact and inspiration that a woman’s first signature model could create for young ladies playing the sport still isn’t lost on people throughout the industry, let alone Cecily O’Reilly, Nike Basketball’s current Global Footwear Product Line Manager and a former collegiate hooper in her own right.
“That first Swoopes, with the velcro strap, stuck out for me, and I definitely had that shoe,” O’Reilly told Nice Kicks.
“I remember going to watch Team USA at the University of Washington for an exhibition, and it was probably one of my first women’s games I ever went to as a child. I just remember seeing Sheryl in her shoe, and going, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing! She’s like the women’s Jordan, she has her own shoe!'”
Seeing women on TV in a NBA-affiliated pro league gave girls hope and a realistic path to pursue in athletics. Seeing Sheryl with her own sneaker put her on an equal plane with the biggest global icons of the time, an immeasurable feat.
“I just thought that was so cool, and I had to go get them,” continues O’Reilly. “It was amazing, and I loved her shoe, because she was like the women’s Jordan. I wore #23 as a kid and always wanted to be like Jordan, but as soon as I went to that game, I wanted to be like Sheryl from then on.”
Check out Sheryl’s autographed debut Nike Air Swoopes below, featuring her unique ‘S’ tongue logo icon, as we continue to highlight the achievements of women throughout the industry in honor of International Women’s Day.
