The CR7 Air Max 97 Is Coming
The world’s greatest athlete and the world’s biggest sneaker brand are coming together in another iconic collaboration for one of Nike’s most recognisable silhouettes. The Air Max 97 will be undergoing a luxury makeover in a fusion of Ronaldo’s humble beginnings and current superstar lifestyle in a homage to his road to glory.
A golden patchwork adorns the upper, representing the rags-to-riches journey of a boy born to play. Yet his family could only afford two pairs of shoes for Cristiano—one for school, one for football. Each time he’d wear a hole into his shoe, his mother would patch it up so he could continue chasing greatness.
In typical Ronaldo form, the shoes gold colourway reflects his new lifestyle and his recognition as the best player in the game. The shoe also features the CR7 logo on the heel tab and a red and green tick representing his homeland of Portugal and the clubs that made him a legend.
Footwear designer Ben Kirschner said “I imagined her pulling from materials that she had simply to patch the shoe up. So we took these materials and cut them up into different pieces, put them in a random pot, and whichever one you grabbed was then stitched on. Each patch represents a different experience that made Cristiano who he was. Every time he came home, he got a new patch, so we wanted each patch to represent a different moment in time”.
