Every October, Nike digs into the stranger side of its archive, and this year the Air Force 1 is back covered in fur. The Nike Air Force 1 Low "Halloween," nicknamed the "NYC Rat," turns one of New York's most infamous residents into a sneaker. It landed just before Halloween, and we have it in stock now in a full run of sizes.
Halloween sneakers have a longer history than most people think, and the Air Force 1 was there early. In 2005, a "Halloween" Low arrived in patent leather with an orange heel and Swoosh. A year later came the "Frankenstein," in two shades of green patent leather with a metallic silver Swoosh, and it's still one of the most wanted Halloween pairs of all time.
Nike SB turned the idea into folklore in the mid-2000s. Its Horror Pack gave us the Dunk High "Jason Voorhees" and the Air Trainer 1 "Dawn of the Dead," which set the orange-and-purple palette that Halloween releases still use. The Dunk Low "Freddy Krueger" never released at all after copyright problems, and it's now remembered as the greatest sneaker that never came out.
The tradition has only grown since. In 2019, the SB Dunk Low "Night of Mischief" made Halloween an annual event, and pairs now resell for over $800. The Air Force 1 kept its own run going, from the X-ray "Skeleton" of 2018 to the 2024 "Jason," with a toe box shaped like a hockey mask.
This year's pair trades movie monsters for the city that made the Air Force 1. New York's shops and streets kept Bruce Kilgore's 1982 design alive, and the rat is as much a part of the city as the subway it lives in. The upper is dark pebbled leather, with shaggy Baroque Brown faux fur forming the Swoosh, the foxing, and the collar.
The details reward a closer look. Fuzzy black laces, an NYC tag on the tongue, and a metal lace dubrae sit up top. A small red eye is hidden in the fur at the heel, watching whoever walks behind you. Underneath, a black midsole carries brown AIR lettering over a translucent outsole.
It isn't the only pair Nike lined up for this October. The Air Force 1 '01 "Hellraiser" goes straight for the monsters, with a black leather upper studded with silver rivets and red stitching that nods to Pinhead without using any film imagery. It's the more literal companion to the rat, and the one for anyone who wants their Halloween pair to look the part.
Nike Basketball has its own take on the season, led by Ja Morant. The Ja 4 "Halloween" turns his fourth signature shoe into a zombie, with a sickly green upper, a crimson Swoosh and Ja-Frame, sharp teeth on the lace dubrae, and an outsole that glows in the dark. It follows last year's Ja 3 "Spooky Season" and is still built to hoop in, with Cushlon 3.0 cushioning underfoot.
Of the three, we think the rat has the best shot at becoming a classic. It's strange enough to start conversations, it's tied to a real story, and it only fully makes sense in one season. That's exactly why the Frankenstein and the Night of Mischief are still remembered, and neither looked like an easy sell at the time.
Fur on an Air Force 1 will divide people, and that's part of the point. The pairs collectors chase years later are rarely the safe ones, but the ones people passed on and later wished they'd bought. We wouldn't be surprised if, years from now, someone asks why they didn't pick this one up when they had the chance.
The Nike Air Force 1 Low "Halloween" is available now on noirfonce.eu for €129.99, in sizes 38.5 to 47.5. Alongside it you'll find the Air Force 1 '01 "Hellraiser" for €149.99 and the Ja 4 "Halloween" for €139.99, the latter in limited sizes. If you like your Nike classics with an unexpected texture, check out our story on the Air Max Goadome Low Croc Skin.
