Circulate Brings a Nike Air Force 1 to ComplexCon Booth G27

Circulate sold its Nike Air Force 1 Low at booth G27 in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center on October 3 and 4, 2026, the first Nike shoe to carry founder Corey Populus's name, seven months after his first Nike apparel capsule nearly sold out at Crenshaw High School during All Star Weekend. It was also the quietest shoe on a floor where, by Complex's count, six community partners were handing guests custom Air Force 1 Lows. White leather, white sole, a laser etched Circulate mark on the lateral heel and a tongue tag that reads Thinking Made Visual where the Nike Air label normally sits. That is the whole edit.

Nike Sportswear powered the booth, per Circulate's own post, which also sold Circulate and Nike tees and gave one instruction: "Beat me there, don't meet me there." Populus was on site for the release, according to HotNewHipHop. Nobody published a price or a pair count.

Thinking Made Visual Replaces the Nike Air Tag

The tongue tag on the Circulate pair swaps the Nike Air label for the brand's Thinking Made Visual graphic, and the lateral heel carries a laser etched Circulate logo. The metallic silver lace dubrae, the white leather paneling and the white midsole and outsole are stock Air Force 1 Low, which Sneaker Bar Detroit's Mason Tiniuc described on October 2 as no major changes to construction or color blocking.

So the upper is the full grain white leather Kicks Under Cost described, the same hide as a Triple White pair, and the two marks are the product. A laser etch adds no stitch and no panel, which is the right call for a brand whose whole proposition is a logo.

Circulate was not alone in the approach. Ben Atkinson's HotNewHipHop rundown on October 3 put Jae Tips and Circulate side by side: both went with a Triple White base, each added a custom tongue tag and heel branding, and the shoes were not changed beyond that. Badfriend ran white and black versions, the white pair with a purple tongue tag and a black heel logo. It is the same move Ben G makes on October 10 with its Nike SB Air Force 1, where 300 pairs carry the Dutch skateshop's round logo and nothing else changes. The label becomes the colorway.

Corey Populus Asked for a Dunk Low. He Got an Air Force 1 First.

Corey Populus founded Circulate in 2018 after learning the trade at the Diamond Supply Co. store on Fairfax. His first public Nike project was a six piece apparel capsule sold February 13 and 14, 2026 at Nike's 11th Ave Market inside Crenshaw High School for NBA All Star Weekend, with White Championship Artist tees, World Champions graphics in dark blue and purple, a Circulate Arts P.E. Uniform and a grey South Central Hoodie.

Nearly everything in that capsule was gone before Sole Retriever reached the booth. Asked by Sole Retriever's Nicholas Vlahos on February 20, 2026 which shoe he would pick for an SB collaboration, Populus said, "Gotta go Dunk Low. That's how I got into sneakers."

The October shoe is not that shoe. It is an Air Force 1 Low under a booth powered by Nike Sportswear, and Circulate's post tagged @nsw, not Nike SB. Populus got his first Nike footwear on the silhouette Nike handed to six community partners that weekend, and the Dunk Low he named in February is still unmade.

Victor Victor Took the Weekend. Circulate Finished Tenth of Twelve.

Ben Atkinson ranked twelve sneakers seen at ComplexCon 2026 for HotNewHipHop on October 8, and the Circulate Air Force 1 Low landed at number 10, ahead of Badfriend at 11 and Stash x LAAMS at 12. Victor Victor's Air Force 1 Low, built on the '01 cut in a blue based scheme and sold from a gas station themed activation with a Ferrari Monza SP2 inside it, took number 1, with Lil Yachty's Concrete Boys Air Force 1 Mid, 1,000 pairs dropped without warning at his pawn shop themed booth, at number 2.

"It's the kind of first collab that earns respect because it doesn't try too hard," Atkinson wrote of the Circulate pair.

That is the honest read. Tenth place for a white on white shoe with two logos is not a loss, because the shoe was never built to win a ranking. It was built to be bought by people who already know the brand, the way the first Nike collab from Taller de Rafa, the Air Max Goadome Low that sold out at the show, was bought by people who knew the Bronx family behind it. Taller de Rafa brought a limited restock to its booth after selling out in September. Circulate has announced no restock.

Booth G27 Was the Only Door, and It Closed October 4

ComplexCon's tenth anniversary edition ran October 3 and 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena, with Playboi Carti and Hiroshi Fujiwara credited as artistic directors and Ken Carson headlining Saturday.

Circulate named no other door, no SNKRS entry, no online window and no retailer, and the caption's "Welcome to LA" was the closest thing to an address beyond the booth number. Sole Retriever, Sneaker Bar Detroit, Complex and Kicks Under Cost all previewed the pair on October 1 and 2, and all four left the price and the quantity blank.

Two facts settle what this shoe is. Populus's February capsule nearly sold out of a high school before the press arrived, and his first Nike shoe, seven months later, kept the leather, the sole and the dubrae exactly as Nike makes them and changed only the two places a logo fits.

Related: Nike Pegasus Plus 2 Release and Specs.