L.A. designer Andrea Lieberman reinvents Nike’s classic Cortez sneaker

By Ingrid Schmidt

Aug. 15, 2017 5:30 AM PT

Nike and Los Angeles fashion brand A.L.C., founded by former celebrity stylist Andrea Lieberman, have teamed up on a limited-edition Nike Cortez by A.L.C. sneaker for women ($100) available at Nordstrom at the Grove on Aug. 25 and on Nike.com, ALCLtd.com and Net-a-Porter.com starting Aug. 28.

This celebration of the 45th anniversary of Nike’s Cortez, follows other recent women’s and unisex riffs on the shoe style by Nordstrom’s vice president of creative projects, Olivia Kim, in June and L.A. graffiti and tattoo artist Mister Cartoon (a.k.a. Mark Machado) in July, respectively.

The Cortez by A.L.C. features a snakeskin-print back tab and two sets of laces, regular and extra-long, which can be wrapped around the ankles. Each of three colors features a unique expression on the sock liner inside: “Love More” (blush), “Do It. Own It” (gray) and “Think How You Can” (off-white). Those lines also are printed on A.L.C. T-shirts ($98) exclusive to ALCLtd.com.

“These are the sentiments that we want our girl to carry with her every day,” Lieberman said. “Our company and Nike share so many of the same values. What I’ve always strived for with A.L.C. is for a woman to put on a piece and feel good. … For me, these messages feel very empowering.

“I’ve been a Nike girl for life. I often used them in my music styling, whether it was the Cortez on Jennifer Lopez or Air Force 1s on Puffy [a.k.a. Sean Combs] back in the day. Several seasons ago, I was looking for the right shoe to style a fall A.L.C. look book, and it was one of those aha moments when I realized it was the Cortez. We’ve been using it ever since, because it seems like the perfect go-to sneaker for this modern mind-set of fashion dressing.”

In terms of Hollywood, the Cortez was memorably featured in ’70s photos on the feet of Farrah Fawcett (that famed look was recreated by Bella Hadid in a Nike campaign for the shoe this year). Whitney Houston wore the Cortez for her 1991 Super Bowl halftime performance, and Tom Hanks did as well in 1994’s “Forrest Gump.” The Cortez also has a history with hip-hop. Over the years, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar and others have been spotted wearing Cortez sneakers.

Nike spokeswoman Grace Chang said that the A.L.C. style is a nod to the modern woman-on-the-go and that it has more of a high-fashion twist.

“This is the first time we’ve done long laces, which girls are styling in unique ways,” Chang said. “It has that ballet-street-style vibe to it. The way Andrea styles sneakers is so elevated — juxtaposed with beautiful dresses, amazing leather pants or velvet gauchos — that it speaks to all generations.”