Nike will release an Air Force 1 Low '01 built around New York City's subway rats on October 7, 2026. The College Grey/College Grey/Pink Glaze pair, style code IV6999-001, comes with a hangtag modeled on the retired MTA MetroCard, House of Heat reports. Nice Kicks lists the retail price at $150, with the release running through SNKRS and select retailers.
Outlets are using two nicknames for the shoe. Nice Kicks and Sneaker Bar Detroit call it the "Subway Rat," and House of Heat calls it the "NYC Rat." JustFreshKicks and Sneaker Bar Detroit use "NYC Rat" for a different pair, IV4884-200, covered below. Sneaker Bar Detroit's July report on the same style code used the name "MTA MetroCard."
The design
Shaggy College Grey suede covers almost the entire upper, including the toe, side panels, Swooshes and tongue, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit. Pink Glaze trims the Swooshes and midsole and returns on a translucent outsole. A thin pink strip extends from the back of the heel like a rat's tail. House of Heat says the pink tab and outsole reference a rat's tail and feet, and notes a velvety inner lining.
Nike's "NYC" Swoosh logo is embroidered behind the tongue tag. When the two insoles sit side by side, they form one large pizza-slice graphic. Pink replacement laces come in the box alongside the tonal pair.
The hangtag is a yellow card styled after the MetroCard. It keeps the card's layout and "insert this way" instructions but swaps the MetroCard wordmark for a large blue Swoosh. Leaked JD Sports images of the hangtag appeared in July, Complex reported at the time.
A second rat pair on October 23
Nike has a second rat-themed Air Force 1 on the calendar. The Air Force 1 Low "NYC Rat," style code IV4884-200, in Baroque Brown/Black/Terra Red, releases October 23, 2026, for $140 through Nike.com, JustFreshKicks reports. Dark gray leather forms the base, and brown faux fur covers the Swooshes, collar and heel. A red eye is stitched into the heel fur. The pair also has fuzzy laces, "NYC" branding on the tongue tag, a black midsole with brown "AIR" lettering, a muted pink translucent outsole and metallic lace dubraes.
Sneaker Bar Detroit and JustFreshKicks both describe the IV4884-200 as one half of a two-pair New York City pack with the "MTA MetroCard" colorway. The two pairs have separate release dates. In August, Sole Retriever reported on a black-leather, brown-fur "Black Subway Rat" Air Force 1 with red eyes on the heel. It carried the same $140 price and had no release date.
The MetroCard
The MTA rolled out the MetroCard in 1994 to replace subway tokens. In March 2025, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber announced that sales and distribution would end on December 31, 2025, amNewYork reported. Since January 1, 2026, riders have been unable to buy or reload a MetroCard, ABC7 New York reported.
As of July 2026, the MTA was still accepting MetroCards in the subway and on buses, amNewYork reported. It was also removing MetroCard swipe slots from fare gates. The agency had not announced a final acceptance date, and 98% of riders had moved to the OMNY tap-to-pay system.
The rat, the pigeon and the Uptown
In September 2015, New York comedian Matt Little uploaded a video of a rat dragging a slice of pizza down subway stairs. By that afternoon, #PizzaRat was trending worldwide on Twitter, CBC News reported.
House of Heat and JustFreshKicks both compare the shoe to Jeff Staple's "Pigeon" Nike SB Dunk Low. Staple released that pair on February 22, 2005, at his Reed Space store on the Lower East Side. Buyers camped outside for four days in February snow, and police moved in to break up a line of more than a hundred people. Staple recalled officers making arrests and machetes and baseball bats ending up on the ground, in an interview recapped by Highsnobiety. House of Heat notes that stock of the rat pair should be much higher than stock of the Pigeon.
The Air Force 1 has its own New York history. JustFreshKicks notes that New Yorkers have long called the shoe the "Uptown." Bruce Kilgore designed the Air Force 1 in 1982, and the shoe turns 45 in 2027, according to House of Heat.
Nike's recent New York Air Force 1 releases include a customizable Nike By You Air Force 1 for the Knicks' championship and the Terror Squad x Nike Air Force 1 "University Red". In January, Uristocrat reported that New York City's subway and bus fare rose to $3.
Source: House of Heat, Nice Kicks, Sneaker Bar Detroit, JustFreshKicks
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