The following year, at the Chicago Sporting Goods Association, Nike officially released three silhouettes to launch their new brand. The three silhouettes included the Marathon, Boston and the Cortez. At this time, Nike then released an advert for the Nike Cortez that included what they called ‘The Cortez Story’, which completely cut any mention of their previous partnership with Onitsuka Tiger. It was also here, that Nike released the first leather version of the Nike Cortez. Before the case was over, Bowerman had created the Nike Cortez by switching out the Onitsuka ‘Waves’ inspired by the waves on the Kobe shores, to the iconic Nike ‘Swoosh’ which was designed by Carolyn Davidson, inspired by the shape of a running motion, with the brand selling it under their own name in 1972. Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club who won a championship in the 2019 season. Their home, away, third and goalkeeper shirts are all being designed and made by ASICS. 5. Novac Djokovic, 2019. ASICS' founder, Kihachiro Onitsuka, believed being active creates a better lifestyle. Onitsuka lived to inspire, support and encourage everyone to embrace an active lifestyle. He wanted his brand to be accessible for all sports consumers ranging from beginners to professionals. The story of Kihachiro Onitsuka At the time, adidas had released a running spike sneaker called the ‘Azteca Gold’ which featured a very similar shape to the Onitsuka spikes as well as similar overlays on the heel and used a similar name. With this being the case, Bowerman was tasked with finding a new name for the sneaker, this time choosing the name ‘Cortez’.

Fast forward to 1994, Nike is continuing to dominate the sneaker market. It also saw the release of one of, if not the, biggest sneaker moments in history. The film ‘Forrest Gump’ starring Tom Hanks saw a scene in which the main character, Forrest, is given a pair of the classic Nike’s by his love interest, Jennie. The scene is perfect product placement and sees Forrest going onto run across the United States wearing the sneaker, further advertising the running benefits they still held. The following year, in 1967, Bowerman and Onitsuka wanted to change the name of their heavily praised release, and with the Mexico Olympics arriving in 1968, Bowerman decided to change the name to ‘TG-Mexcio’, which promoted some of the adverts for the sneaker to include the word ‘Mexico’ on the lateral side of the shoe.Since its release, the Nike Cortez has seemed to dip out of favour from the mainstream with attention moving to basketball sneakers and Air Max as time passed. Nevertheless, Nike has been able to keep the spirit of its very first silhouette alive, with many still holding it in high regard. Few shoes have created such a seismic shift in the sneaker business. A court later decreed that both Onitsuka and Nike could sell the Cortez model. Nike retained the shoe’s original name, while Tiger dubbed their version the ‘Corsair’. Before Nike, came Blue Ribbon Sports. Founded by Phil Knight and the Olympic running coach Bill Bowerman, Blue Ribbon Sports was working alongside Onitsuka Tiger to distribute their sneakers within the US from Japan (a story best told within Phil Knight’s book ‘Shoe Dog’). After the duo had worked with Onitsuka Tiger (who also owns ASICS) for two years, Bowerman was allowed to utilise his designs and release a marathon-running sneaker of his own in conjunction with the Japanese brand. Acting almost as a final jab at adidas, the Cortez name was derived from the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes who led an expedition which brought the fall of the Aztec Empire in the 1500s.

While the Cortez was a staple within the running community, 1976 saw it explode into pop culture. In an episode of Charlie’s Angels, the actress Farah Fawcett can be seen skating in a women’s version of the leather Nike Cortez titled the ‘Señorita Cortez’. Following the release, sales of the women’s sizing of the sneaker grew massively, with the image of Fawcett becoming iconic not only in Nike’s history, but sneaker history as a whole.

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ASICS grew from a two-person team to one of the world’s most influential sports brands. ASICS was built on the idea of “Anima sana in corpore sano,” a Latin phrase which translates to "a sound mind in a sound body". This philosophy became a legacy that remains an essential part of the brand to this day. While Nike hasn't made as much of a point of celebrating the anniversary of its oldest silhouette, other brands that are collaborating with Nike are set to release projects that are worth taking note of.

In remembrance of Onituska, ASICS released “100th Birthday Commemorative” models on May 29, 2018. The products were designed with a sunflower that Onitsuka painted. This line includes the ASICS’ GEL-QUANTUM™ 360 KO100, the ASICS Tiger GEL-MAI™ KO100 and the Onitsuka Tiger CORSAIR™ KO100 running shoes, as well as a line of apparel. The future of ASICS During the ‘80s, the Nike Cortez continued to be a huge success in pop culture, particularly finding its footing within the music industry. In the mid-'70s - early ‘80s Sir Elton John worked closely with Nike to create his own Cortez sneaker which featured the midsole design of the 1979 Nike Roadrunner. Finally, in 1974, the court case between Nike and Onitsuka Tiger was passed in favour of Nike, allowing them to continue with the ‘Cortez’ name, but ruling that both brands were still able to create a product with the same silhouette. As such, Tiger changed the name of their variant to “Tiger Corsair” which is still available today. Italian international men's gold medalist Stefano Baldini and Japanese international women’s marathon gold medalist Mizuki Noguchi wore ASICS' marathon shoes. 3. Saori Yoshida, 2012. marks the 50th anniversary of one of Nike’s greatest sneakers, the Cortez. An iconic silhouette, the Cortez has evolved from being a technologically advanced running shoe (at the time it was released) to becoming a pop culture icon, finally resting on being an all-time classic.Despite the name change, Onitsuka Tiger does still use the ‘Mexico’ name in their ‘Mexico 66’ running sneaker, perhaps a nod to the original 1966 TG-24. However, Onitsuka Tiger decided that they weren’t happy with the name and once again made a change, this time looking to opt for the name ‘Aztec’, taking its inspiration from ancient Mexican history during the Aztec era. Despite the sneaker receiving its third name in two years, Onitsuka ran into further troubles, this time from one of their competitors, adidas. While 2018 saw two further colourways of the Lamar x Cortez amongst a myriad of additional colourways and collaborations, including Stranger Things in 2019, the sneaker once again began to wain in mainstream popularity.

During this time period, ASICS created innovative products used by professional athletes around the world. ASICS champions in the 2000’s 1. Naoko Takahashi, 2000. Who is Kihachiro Onitsuka? Onitsuka was a military veteran who eventually decided to venture into the shoe business. He began making footwear for top athletes under the business name "Onitsuka Co." This company started small with just a handful of employees and initially sought to produce basketball shoes. On September 29, 2007, Onitsuka passed away from heart failure at a hospital in Kobe, Japan. The quote “if you fail, keep going until you succeed” is one way to describe how Mr. Onitsuka lived his extraordinary life. He was 89. Kihachiro Onitsuka’s 100th birthday, 2018.Onitsuka Co. was originally founded in 1949, later merging with GTO Co. and JELENK Co. in 1977. Following the merger, the company officially formed “ASICS”. Today, under the umbrella of the ASICS company are the ASICS and Onitsuka Tiger brands. ASICS historical timeline The sneaker played such a huge role in the film that they have since become synonymous with it much like the Air Jordan 4s worn by Spike Lee in the 1989 basketball film ‘Do The Right Thing’.