Nike Heritage Meets Futurismo: The Pegasus Premium Is No Phoney
The Pegasus Premium has finally arrived and I can’t remember the last time I was this amped on an all-new design. The first IRL look arrived last year at Paris Fashion Week when Nike went uncharacteristically early with the PR blast, but nothing beats having a proper pair in the hand for a more detailed and nuanced review.
Straight out the box, the PP has undeniable presence. The chunky heel height is nicely camouflaged by the cleverly stacked triple decker design, and the overall vibe is sporty but smart casual. It’s almost cartoonish in its jacked-up proportions, but not so much that it overpowers or offends the senses. On pure aesthetics alone, I’d have no qualms rocking this in any social situation, though we’ll get to the question of extreme ride quality later. There’s obviously a lot going on here – on all levels – but elegant simplicity is the key to hammering this round Peg into a square hole and I’m calling it early as one of those rare moments where Nike heritage meets just the right amount of futurismo.
First off, credit to the colourists for their impeccable sense of restraint. The launch colour combo is drop dead gorgeous and it’s simply impossible to ignore the swoopy slash of translucent orange Air Zoom. Curiously, closer inspection reveals this Peggy Boy is not even close to white. The box lists the code as ‘Football Grey’, with ‘Total Orange’ only credited by name via the QR link, but you’ll only notice the off-grey effect when you pop it next to an all-white shoe. The mono mesh upper is made up of multiple textures and gossamer layers that protect wide open perforations, which is a much more traditional approach than the radical Alphafly range that earns all the rave reviews.
Tiny design details abound. Metallic mini logos feature on the heel and forefoot. The welded strip that delineates the marriage between meshes features a trick reflective coating that is offset by the subtle iridescent finish applied to the hero Swoosh. (You gotta look super close to see this one!) Triple tech cushioning callouts for Air Zoom, ZoomX and ReactX are neat and nicely balanced flourishes that don’t overpower the classical vibes. The sole pattern is light but grippy, which makes it a much more practical all-conditions runner than most high-end competitors with their slick foam panels that prioritise micro weight reduction over traction. I also love the little backwards kink in the ankle pad, a nice nod to previous iterations of Peg design language.
On-foot is where the pondering officially starts. The first thing that becomes immediately apparent is that this Peg is not for the faint hearted. ‘Bouncy AF’ is the first, second and third thoughts that come to mind! Like doing star jumps on a water bed in slippery socks, the distinct lack of stability will surprise anyone who has never tried on today’s generation of cushion-monsters. I’d describe the overall underfoot feeling as ‘unnerving’, but time will tell how they settle after a few days of street wear and tear.
There are plenty of resources online that talk with elitist pride about the precision of drop heights and the apparent porky weight of the Pegasus Premium – officially listed as 311 grams btw – but these are far from deal breakers for the moral majority. However, the upshot of Nike’s commitment to extreme energy return is that the PP presents a physical challenge for anyone looking at it purely as a dope acquisition to the daily rotation. It’s simply too hardcore to turn it into an everyday shoe, which obviously limits its chart-busting potential as a crossover hit. As you can probably tell, I’m kinda torn on this issue.
You could certainly mount a case that – minus the obvious lack of full length Nike airbags – the Pegasus Premium design could have been detuned and rebadged in the Air Max category for mass consumption, but that would undermine Nike’s message of the moment. The Pegasus Premium is a proper performance piece and not a phoney pretender, and don’t you forget it!
Needless to say, there’s a lot riding on this moment for Nike. After all the copycat criticism the brand faced in 2024 and the early termination of the CEO, the Swoosh need a huge hit more than Katy Perry – and they need it fast. I love the Pegasus Premium for all the reasons above, but its extreme ride will likely keep it a minority player in the sneaker space. But if this is a sign of things to come at Nike – and in the industry at large – then bring it on!
