Nike’s Air Rift Mesh Is a Breathable Update to One of the Brand’s Most Distinctive Silhouettes

Name: Nike Air Rift Mesh “Black/White” Colorway: Black/White/Black SKU: IW8074-001 MSRP: ¥12,100 JPY (approx. $75 USD) Release Date: Available now (Japan) Where to Buy: Nike JP

Nike has listed the Air Rift Mesh Women’s Shoes on its Japan webstore, bringing a mesh upper iteration of the brand’s iconic split-toe silhouette in a Black/White/Black colorway. The shoe retains the Air Rift’s defining construction — split toe, hook-and-loop strap entry, Nike Air cushioning — while the mesh upper reduces weight and improves breathability across the board.

Sponsored

Spotify Premium — Listen Ad-Free

Music without interruptions. 3 months free for new users.

Try Premium →

The spec sheet is straightforward and purposeful. A mesh upper keeps the build light and ventilated, a foam midsole pairs with Nike Air technology for impact absorption, and a rubber outsole with rugged tread handles durability and grip. Hook-and-loop straps allow for easy adjustability without sacrificing fit, keeping the slide-in entry the silhouette has always relied on. The Black/White/Black colorway is clean and versatile, letting the split-toe architecture do the visual work rather than leaning on color to carry the design.

That architecture is the Air Rift’s entire argument. Originally developed in the mid-1990s with Kenyan distance runners in mind — the split-toe mirroring the structure of traditional running sandals to engage the big toe separately from the forefoot — the silhouette found a second life in fashion and subcultural circles long after its performance chapter closed. The Air Rift has been a recurring presence in Nike’s rotation ever since, surfacing every few years in new materials and colorways for an audience that values its structural strangeness as much as its wearability. The Mesh iteration is the latest expression of that cycle, swapping out heavier upper materials for something suited to warmer-weather wear without altering the silhouette’s essential character.

For a shoe built around a feature as specific as a split toe, the Air Rift has always attracted a particular kind of wearer: one drawn to footwear with a point of view. The mesh version doesn’t dilute that. If anything, the lighter construction makes the design choice feel more deliberate, stripping the shoe back to what makes it worth wearing in the first place.