The Taller de Rafa x Nike Air Max Goadome Low released on September 25, 2026, and it is the Bronx collective's first sneaker with Nike. We don't carry it at NOIRFONCE, but we managed to get our hands on one pair. Up close, the detail and execution left us amazed. We wanted to share it, along with the story of the people who made it.
Taller de Rafa, often shortened to TDR, was started in 2018 by brother and sister Rafael and Genesis Valverde. It began with screen printing in a small room of their parents' Bronx apartment. During the pandemic it became an official creative atelier. Rafa leads as creative director, while Genesis runs the experiences side through TDR and its in-house agency, Fyve Senses.
The project is about more than clothing. TDR describes its mission as "crafting environments that ignite creativity and foster the development of ideas within our community." That has meant workshops like a car repair session for women and T-shirt making classes. Before this shoe, the team had already worked with Nike on an RC car tournament and an upcycled belt-making class.
Cars are the thread running through all of it. One of the label's recurring themes, "Pop The Trunk," turns the trunk of a car into both a shop and a way of telling stories. The garage, with its tools, oil, and patience, is where the TDR look comes from. The Goadome was a natural place to bring that world onto a shoe.
The Goadome itself has deep city roots. Nike's ACG line released the Air Max Goadome in 2000 as a winter boot, with Max Air cushioning in a tough leather build and a deep-lug sole. It quickly became part of the winter uniform in New York and Washington, D.C. The boot returned in 2025, and in 2026 Nike cut it down into the Goadome Low.
TDR's version reads like a well-used workbench. The upper is Mosswood Brown leather with brushed, worn edges and pre-faded sections at the toe and heel, so it looks broken in from day one. A mesh collar breaks up the leather, and "TDR" is perforated into the side panel. A mini metallic Swoosh sits at the ankle, above a brown midsole and an outsole marked with bright blue splotches.
The hardware is where the garage theme really shows. The speed-lacing eyestays are hexagonal metal pieces shaped like bolt heads, each with Nike branding. A small speed wrench hangs from the laces as a tag, and TDR branding runs across the tongue, the heel, and an embroidered heel pull. The box carries an oil-stained finish, and inside come three lace options: boot laces, wide two-tone laces, and thin leather laces.
What excites us most is who Nike chose to work with. Taller de Rafa is a family-run collective that grew out of a neighborhood, not a household name. Giving a team like that a full footwear project, with this level of care in the details, sends a strong signal. We hope it is the start of Nike exploring many more collectives like it.
This pair isn't on our shelves, but we wanted to spread the love for the people behind it. If you are curious about how far the Goadome Low can travel from its ACG roots, read our story on the Nike Air Max Goadome Low Croc Skin. We will be keeping a close eye on whatever Taller de Rafa builds next.
