With so many iconic footwear models in its archive, it’s difficult to single out one Nike shoe as the most important in the brand’s history. But a case can certainly be made for the Moon Shoe.
Despite never actually making it to market in its initial form, the 1971 prototype design was the Beaverton, Ore.-based company’s first-ever running shoe and would go on to inform much of its output in the decade that would follow. Recently reintroduced through a popular collaboration with French fashion label Jacquemus, the Moon Shoe is now beginning its more widely available general release rollout — but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy to get.
Related Stories
After an early April launch of the Moon Shoe’s Soft Pearl colorway (style code II0407-001), Nike will treat the trailblazing model to another launch in May which includes the Soft Pearl, Soft Yellow (style code IW0955-700) and Midnight Navy (style code IW0955-400) colorways. Each style features a mix of nylon and leather with contrasting Swoosh logos with gum rubber outsoles appearing on the navy and pearl pairs, while the yellow iteration opts for black.
You May Also Like
And speaking of the outsole, it’s this detail that made the Moon Shoe such a pivotal design for the then-fledgling sportswear manufacturer. Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman was famously inspired by his wife Barbara’s waffle iron, specifically the grid pattern used to shape the breakfast food. Seeking to implement a traction pattern that would work on the University of Oregon’s slick urethane track surface, Bowerman tinkered with the idea before finally arriving on a prototype design.
“The waffle sole changed everything,” Nike running historian Rick Lower said in a 2025 retrospective. “Not only did it transform how runners thought about traction and cushioning but it showed people what Nike was about: solving problems in new ways.”
While it didn’t see a public release in the ‘70s, the Moon Shoe’s waffle pattern would find its way on to other significant sneakers such as the Oregon Waffle and Waffle Trainer. Without it, the company’s trajectory could have played out much differently.
Prior to its recent reissue, the Moon Shoe made history in a 2019 Sotheby’s auction after selling for $437,500 to Canadian investor Miles Nadal. At the time, it was the most expensive sneaker ever sold at auction, a record which has since been surpassed by several game-worn Michael Jordan shoes along with a Nike Air Yeezy sample.
The Nike Moon Shoe OG will be released May 7 on nike.com for $105.