1980S NOSTALGIA & THE NIKE TERMINATOR HIGH

Hip-hop had started to bubble over from the underground onto the international stage, with a long list of emcees embodying the very definition of artistry — style, creativity, energy, talent. To really understand its origins, however, it’s necessary to go back a decade prior to the borough of The Bronx, New York. A new style of music had begun to gain popularity, enabled through exchange between Black, Latin and Caribbean communities. That style of music was hip-hop: an artistic movement sitting at the intersection of MCing, turntablism, grafitti and breakdancing.

Though the 1970s represented the foundations of what would blossom into the far-reaching, global movement we know today — largely thanks to pioneers like Grandmaster Flash, DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa — the 1980s represented an instrumental decade in hip-hop entering the wider consciousness. Groups like Run DMC, Public Enemy, De La Soul and Salt ‘n’ Pepa, to name a few, burst onto the scene with razor-sharp flows and a unique, distinctive approach to style, representing a seminal time for the genre of hip-hop as we know it today.

While musicians were entering unchartered territory during this era and pioneering their own sound, that same boundary-shifting sensibility was mirrored in the world of sports. The era marked an incredible decade in the world of basketball; the 1980s kickstarted with the NBA final between The Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers, with viewers being witness to Magic Johnson recording 42 points and 15 rebounds in game 6, catapulting the Lakers to title victory and himself to the 1980 NBA Finals MVP.  In the season of 1984-1985, Michael Jordan played his first rookie season under the Chicago Bulls: an incredible debut which saw MJ light up the courts with his drive, strength and gravity-defying leap. It ultimately led him to achieve “Rookie of the Year”, finishing the season with an astounding point-per-game average.  

Elsewhere, the world of tennis was shaken up by the likes of John McEnroe, renowned for not only his volleying and shot-making finesse, but also his on-court outbursts — a moment of rage which became McEnroe’s signature, eventually becoming the moniker of his 2002 memoir. Meanwhile, Martina Navratilova dominated female tennis throughout the decade, with 14 major single titles in 20 championship opportunities, six of those being victorious outings at Wimbledon.  

Cinema, meanwhile, carried with it a similar sense of palpable excitement. Productions were bigger, bolder and more experimental than the decade before, with pioneers like Tim Burton, James Cameron and Stanley Kubrick lighting up screens with iconic, era-definitive films. You had Kubric’s seminal psychological horror, "The Shining", kickstarting the era, representing a visual, nuance-rich masterpiece, with outstanding performances from Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson.

1984, meanwhile, saw the beginning of a legendary franchise and, arguably, the film that catapulted Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron into the global mainstream: "The Terminator". It represented a pivotal moment in dystopian sci-fi thrillers, ultimately going down as one of the most talked about films of not just the 1980s, but of all time. Towards the backend of the decade, Tim Burton released two films that represented cornerstones of that era, too, Beetlejuice in 1988 and Batman in 1989, with both films perfectly capturing the macabre and eccentric approach favoured by Burton.  

While all of the above was happening, the sneaker world was similarly operating with relentless momentum, especially when positioned in reference to Nike and its near-endless list of icons. First of all, you had the beginning of Nike and Michael Jordan’s now multi-billion-pound franchise, with the Air Jordan 1 debuting in 1985. It was something that was initially met with questions — a brand that wasn't renowned for its ties to basketball partnering with a rookie? — but it’s something that’s now impossible to imagine the sneaker world, or the sport, without.

Secondly, and where it brings us to the sneaker in question, is a masterclass in marketing and a milestone moment in the sneaker world: Nike’s “Be True to Your School Campaign”. The campaign was centred around bespoke colourways for eight different college basketball teams, with Syracuse, St. John’s, UNLV, University of Michigan, University of Kentucky, University of Iowa, NC State University and Georgetown University tributed. Seven out of eight schools received their own bespoke colourway on a now-legendary sneaker, the Nike Dunk, with bold, yet simple, colour blocking that matched each team’s signature hues. The campaign was a clever, long-lasting marketing effort, one that not only served as a celebration of collegiate basketball, but also continues to be an integral element of the Dunk’s design codes — and, indeed, Nike’s — to this very day.

Amidst all of this there was, however, an anomaly — a unique school that stood out from the rest with something different. Something individual. That school was Georgetown University, who rather than receiving a Dunk like every other school, instead were given their very own bespoke silhouette. Following off the back of their 1984 National Championship — and John Thompson’s consultancy with Nike that had been ongoing for four years prior — the University received its very own shoe: The Terminator. It marked a first in the sneaker and basketball world, with the Hoyas being the inaugural college team to receive their own shoe. It came at a time where the team had gained widespread adoration, largely thanks to young players such as Patrick Ewing, David Wingate and Reggie Williams demanding the attention of fans with their on-court magic. The shoe very much resembled the other court-focused Swoosh sneakers of the time, with a protective, high-top shape, large sidewall Swoosh and clean panelling — all of which provided a look not too dissimilar from the Dunk or the Air Jordan 1. It of course arrived with some bespoke, team-specific features, like the slate grey and navy colourway that reflected the Hoyas’ jerseys and the large printing across the heels. The latter of those features, though, would be reserved for player-exclusive pairs only, while wider releases received large Nike lettering in its place. The Terminator High, ultimately, didn’t quite manage to gain popularity on the ubiquitous level of the Dunk or the Air Jordan 1, but it does represent a pivotal moment in the history of Nike — a movement against the grain and a pillar of the foundations for exclusives, collaborations and limited editions that would follow.