Nike Moon Shoe Slingback Set for 2027 Spring/Summer, Putting a New Spin on Nike’s Oldest

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• Overview
• What We Know So Far
• Design Details
• The Moon Shoe’s Origin Story
• How It Fits Into the Current Moon Shoe Lineup
• Release Information
• Fin

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The Nike Moon Shoe is entering its next chapter. After a 2026 in-line general release reintroduced Bill Bowerman’s 1971 prototype to the masses, and after a run of Jacquemus and Emmi collaborations pushed the silhouette into fashion territory, Nike is now teasing the Nike Moon Shoe Slingback, a new construction of the brand’s oldest sneaker slated for the 2027 spring/summer season. The slingback treatment continues a clear pattern: Nike’s earliest and rarest design keeps getting reinterpreted as a directional, lifestyle-first shoe rather than a strict archival reissue.

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Early-season previews of the Moon Shoe Slingback have surfaced through Japanese release-calendar outlets ahead of a full unveiling, confirming the name and the 2027 spring/summer placement. Beyond that, Nike has not yet issued an official campaign, so several specifics are still pending confirmation.

Pre-publish note: As of this writing, Nike has not published an official style code, confirmed colorways, retail price, or exact release date for the Moon Shoe Slingback. The details below are based on the model’s design lineage and Nike’s recent rollout pattern for the Moon Shoe family. This article should be updated once Nike or SNKRS issues official assets and a confirmed drop date.

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A “slingback” construction typically swaps a traditional closed heel for an open-back strap that wraps around the ankle, and that shift would mark one of the more significant silhouette changes the Moon Shoe has seen since its 2026 return. Where the in-line general release stayed faithful to Bowerman’s original two-piece build, an upper stitched directly to a thin waffle outsole, the slingback version points toward the same fashion-forward direction Nike has already explored with its collaborators.

That trajectory has been visible for a while. The Nike x Jacquemus take on the Moon Shoe leaned into a “modern ballet” aesthetic, with a cinched ankle, a low-to-the-ground torpedo shape, and a ruched nylon upper that softened the shoe’s racing-flat origins into something closer to a flat. A slingback heel would be a logical next step in that evolution, opening the door to easier on-off wear and a more sandal-adjacent silhouette while keeping the model’s signature elements intact: the slim profile, the oversized Swoosh, and the nubby waffle-pattern outsole that gave the shoe its name.

Expect the Slingback to retain the lightweight nylon-and-suede or nylon-and-leather upper combinations that have defined every Moon Shoe release to date, along with the gridded waffle rubber sole, just reworked around an open heel rather than a fully enclosed one. Driftzine will update this section with confirmed materials and construction details as soon as Nike shares them.

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Every Moon Shoe release leans on the same foundational story, and the Slingback will be no exception. In the early 1970s, Nike co-founder and track coach Bill Bowerman was searching for a lightweight outsole that could give runners better traction without adding weight. The idea reportedly struck him over breakfast: the grid pattern on his wife’s waffle iron looked like the exact geometry he had been chasing. Bowerman poured liquid rubber into the appliance, and the resulting waffle-soled prototype became the Moon Shoe, named for the crater-like footprints it left behind with every step.

Only about a dozen hand-built pairs were ever made, debuting at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. The shoe never went to market in its original form, but its waffle outsole became the foundation for the 1973 Oregon Waffle and, more significantly, the 1975 Waffle Trainer, Nike’s first true commercial hit. Decades later, in 2019, a surviving pair of the original Moon Shoes sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $437,500, at the time the most expensive sneaker ever sold at auction, cementing the model’s status as one of the most important artifacts in Nike’s history despite never having been sold to the public.

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The Moon Shoe’s modern story really begins in 2025, when Nike and French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus reinterpreted Bowerman’s prototype for the first time, introducing a “modern ballet” version with a ruched nylon upper and a Nike Grind outsole. That collaboration has since expanded across multiple seasonal colorway drops, while Nike separately moved the Moon Shoe into its own mainline catalog in 2026 with an archival “Soft Pearl” colorway, followed by a wider women’s-exclusive rollout in Midnight Navy and Soft Yellow.

A collaboration with Japanese label Emmi added another layer to the lineup with navy, yellow, and white colorways aimed squarely at the Japan market, underscoring how central that region has become to the Moon Shoe’s second life. The Slingback continues that same expansion strategy: rather than treating the 1971 prototype as a museum piece, Nike keeps using it as a flexible platform for new silhouette experiments aimed at a style-driven, largely women’s audience.

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Pre-publish note: Release date, retail price, confirmed colorways, and style codes for the Nike Moon Shoe Slingback are not yet available. Based on recent Moon Shoe general-release pricing (the 2026 in-line versions retailed between $95 and $105 USD), a similar price point is plausible for the Slingback, but this should be treated as an estimate only until Nike confirms pricing. Driftzine will publish a follow-up with confirmed details, including SNKRS launch timing, once Nike’s official announcement drops.

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The Nike Moon Shoe Slingback is shaping up to be the latest proof that Nike’s oldest, rarest shoe has become one of its most adaptable. What started as a dozen hand-cobbled prototypes for a 1972 Olympic Trials field is now a recurring platform for archival releases, high-fashion collision, and, soon, an open-heel reinterpretation built for the 2027 spring/summer season. Keep an eye on SNKRS and Nike’s official channels for confirmed colorways and a launch date.