Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design x Nike Air Force 1 Low “Air Presto” sample: Design details and more explored

Japanese musician Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design had an interesting collaboration with Nike resulting in the Air Force 1 Low “Air Presto” sample. The two brands have a history of collaborations with nearly twelve sneaker design samples released.

However, according to Hypeblast, the designs did not make it past the sample stage for various reasons. Fujiwara was recently interviewed for ‘QUIET #7’ and a video of the same was released by the Slide Culture Magazine on January 12, 2025.

He mentioned that the Nike Air Force 1 Low was one of the designs which was by the Air Presto shoes. The AF 1 is a design from 2016. According to a translated version of his interview with QUIET, Fujiwara said:

“I tried this sample to see if I could mix the atmosphere of Presto into AF1. I thought it would be interesting to be able to successfully connect the midsole to the upper, but it seems to be quite difficult.”

He continued:

“However, this first sample was also comfortable to wear, and was well made. I feel like I could come up with something even better with a little more trial and error, but that's for another time.”

According to Hypeblast, the design combines leather overlays with a neoprene base similar to the Air Presto, but slightly higher than a typical low-top Air Force 1. A unique detail of the design is the loose leather heel overlay, which isn't stitched but hangs freely, allowing space for the heat-applied Swoosh on the side.

Other features include hiking-style rope laces with reflective accents and a two-tone midsole. The silhouette has three color options: mostly black, black-and-white, and navy-and-white.

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A look into Hiroshi Fujiwara’s Fragment Design and Nike over the years

Hitoshi Fujiwara’s collaboration with the footwear brand began in the early 2000s through the HTM project with Tinker Hatfield and former CEO Mark Parker. An early standout among the designs was the Fragment Air Footscape Woven, featuring an asymmetrical polka dot print, a pattern Fujiwara often used in the mid-2000s.

In 2010, Fujiwara partnered with Undercover to release Nike Match Classic colorways, including black, white, orange, yellow, and dark green, with suede uppers and co-branded midsoles. The following year, Supreme and Fragment reimagined Nike’s All Court model. They gave a logo-heavy look and introduced three color combinations.

The 2014 Fragment Air Jordan 1 initiated a partnership with Jordan Brand. Inspired by the “Black Toe” design, it swapped red accents for Fragment’s royal blue and included the brand’s lightning bolt logo on the heel. That same year, Fragment reimagined the Nike KD VI Elite, releasing versions in gray suede with neon yellow and royal blue suede with white.

In 2020, the Fragment x Air Jordan 3 Retro SP introduced a minimalist white and black leather design featuring logos from both brands on the heel.

In 2023, Fragment Design partnered with Clot for the latter's 20th anniversary and marked the occasion by revamping the Nike Dunk Low. This edition featured a tearaway white silk upper with Silk Royale patterns, black accents, mismatched branding, and translucent soles.