Tinker Hatfield; A Name Eponymous to Sneaker Culture

When it comes to sneaker design, not many designers have a resume like Tinker Hatfield. Originally an architect designing Nike stores, he used his architectural background to design some of the most iconic sneakers to this day.

His first shoe design was for his infant daughter in 1980. They were simple; a waffle gum sole, orange leather Swoosh symbol and green suede upper, but he incorporated an oversized toe-box for an easy crawl-to-walk transition. The form-meets-function design ideology would follow in his future designs.

In 1987, he designed the Air Max 1 running shoe. In an interview, Hatfield cites Renzi Piano’s Pompidou Centre in Paris as a major inspiration for the design.

In the interview, Hatfield states, “It's glass, but a lot of the structures are outside of the glass. It's like the guts of the building are on the outside. That says a little bit about how that building works. And then all the duct work for all the mechanical systems are painted in bright colours and the whole thing just says ‘this is what I am, as a building.’”

This inspired the cutout window in which we see Nike’s revolutionary air-cushion window that is characteristic to the Air Max line of running shoes. In addition, the Air Max collection continues to sell worldwide and is received with great praise from sneaker collectors and runners alike.

Another popular series of Hatfield’s timeless footwear designs are those for basketball legend, Michael Jordan. His first design in the series, the Jordan III, was a pioneer in basketball footwear. It utilized the new Jumpman logo, constructed of full-grain leather to feel “broken in,” and was the first mid-cut basketball shoe. It too featured Hatfield’s cutout for the air-cushion support system that is characteristic of his Air Max design. The Jordan III combined cutting edge design, materials and technology to give Michael Jordan the best shoe possible; a shoe that helped further his career as he averaged 35 points per game, winning the MVP award, his second Slam Dunk title and Defensive Player of the Year.

Hatfield was also responsible for one of the most anticipated sneakers of all time, the Nike Mag. It was designed for Michael J. Fox’s character in Back to the Future Part II, Marty McFly. An online petition sparked the initial interest for Hatfield, and after thousands of hours of designing, a 1:1 replica (sans automatic lacing) was complete. The shoe was not released to the public until 2011, where 1,500 pairs were only available via eBay auctions to raise money for the Michael J. Fox foundation. A total of $4.7 million was raised towards Parkinson’s disease research.

To this day, Tinker Hatfield continues to design footwear under the Nike brand, and his past designs still remain best sellers. His architectural background has led to groundbreaking designs and technologies that have transformed footwear design.