You canāt have an āall-time greatest sneakersā conversation without mentioning at least one of the many iconic characters from the Air Max universe – that remains a scientific fact, but youāre always welcome to try and disprove it. A few years after Nike had taken one small step for the company and one giant leap for mankind by inserting NASA-grade impact absorption into the soles of their running shoes, it was an even smaller step that would send shockwaves through humanity for decades to come: letting people see the NASA-grade impact absorption.Ā
This stroke of genius, masterminded by architect-turned sports shoe designer Tinker Hatfield after laying eyes on the inside-out Pompidou Centre while on a trip to Paris, was not without its naysayers and the idea almost cost him his job, but it was eventually approved and the rest, as they say, is history. Air Max quickly transcended sport and become a streetwear staple; a commodity for the cool. You don’t have to search very hard online to find photos of 2Pac in the Air Max 1, N.W.A. member MC Ren in the Air Max III, or The Notorious B.I.G. in the Air Max Tailwind 96.
Those shockwaves began on March 26, 1987. When the original Air Max 90 dropped three years later, the force was so strong, they started to feel it underground in the UK.Ā
The Start of Air Max Culture
Acid house, with its roots in the legendary but now long-gone Manchester nightclub The HaƧienda, had been sweeping the country and forming a fast-dancing but faster-growing subculture since 1988, so by the time the vibrant āinfraredā hue and the superior level of comfort that the Air Max 90 boasted were made available, British ravers were primed and ready to greet them with open arms and an unbreakable bond was formed.
Rage @ Heaven, London, 1990. Photography by David Swindells.
In mainland Europe, it was gabber – a techno subgenre conceived in Rotterdam in the early ā90s – that helped put Air Max on the map. The sound enveloped the rest of the Netherlands before spawning scenes in Germany, Italy and Belgium, and the Air Max BW became its symbolic shoe.
Nike Air Max BW ad from 1991.
The Grime Scene
Skepta in front of Skair poster. Photo via Jay Kamara.
The relationship between British electronic dance music and Air Max has been through various phases and iterations since it was established, but it might never have been officially acknowledged by Nike as a symbiotic one, with influence and admiration flowing both ways, if it wasnāt for grime. Dizzee Rascal, the first pioneer of the genre to become a superstar, first collaborated with the Swoosh in 2005 on an Air Max 180, which was released in a very limited quantity of 60 pairs to mark the launch of his record label, Dirtee Stank. The two parties came together again, along with Dizzeeās long-time artwork designer, Ben Drury, in 2009 to give the world, or a lucky few within it, the chance to cop the Air Max 90 Tongue N Cheek. Drury himself had already worked with Nike prior to this in 2006, on the grail-level Air Max 1 āHold Tightā – a shoe that very masterfully tips its cap to pirate radio.
No British musician has paired up with Nike on more occasions than Skepta. The north London-born MC first caused a massive stir at the intersection where sneaker culture meets UK street culture in 2016 with an Instagram post featuring an all-black Air Max BW designed by the man himself. The post set the blogging world alight and platforms everywhere waited with bated breath to receive and spread word of a drop date.
Photo via @sketpagram
That drop date never came, but what did arrive the following year was his first official collab: the Air Max 97 Sk, better known as SkAir. Skepta had sought the counsel of the late sneaker and streetwear guru Gary Warnett and was encouraged to draw influence from the most memorable Air Max of his younger days. The result was a homage to the Air Tuned Max from 1999, which Skepta said was “the first shoe I ever saved up money to buy, so I wanted to bring its magic to the 97 ā the magic that made me first love Air Max when I saw it as a child.” All of Skeptaās subsequent Air Max collabs have taken inspiration from classic silhouettes that were street fashion staples when he was a kid: SkAir 2 – an Air Max 97/BW hybrid; SkAir 3 – the Air Max Deluxe reinvented, and SkAir 5 – a mash-up of the Air Max Tailwind 5 and 5+.
Believe it or not, between Dizzee and Skepta, there was Jessie J. Yes, you read that right. On Air Max Day 2014, Nike and the UK pop powerhouse announced the release of the āRed Roseā pack – consisting of a standard Air Max 90 plus one with a Lunarlon midsole – which was only available to the public via scavenger hunt. What a time to be Alive. Real Jessie J fans will see what I did there.
Air Max City
Despite its small size, Amsterdam has cemented its reputation as a major Air Max city. Gabberās legacy is not as powerful as the mark made by hip-hop, and that is evidenced by the fact that Dutch streetwear giant Patta has so far shunned the opportunity to drop their own take on the Air Max BW in favour of the Air Max 90 Homegrown in 2006; an Air Max 1 quartet to celebrate their 5th anniversary in 2009, with an additional pair making it a quintet the following year; two Air Max 95/90 hybrids in 2018; and their most recent offering, last yearās āwavyā version of the Air Max 1 – available in four colourways. Patta – named after the Surinamese-coined slang word for āshoeā as a nod to the foundersā heritage – disrupted the sneaker world by connecting with Nike at the tender ages of 2 and 5 but still managing to create what are widely regarded as one of the best Air Max 90s and some of the best Air Max 1s of all time.Ā
Patta 5th anniversary Air Max 1 pack via sweetsoles.tumblr.com.
Before Patta started making waves, a Dutch artist with a similar name had already created what some revere as the Air Max 1 G.O.A.T. The Air Max 1 Amsterdam, Nike and Parraās collaborative masterpiece, has been in the Air Max hall of fame since its 2005 issue, and is joined by his other works of art: the Air Max 95 Running Man in 2008, the Air Maxim 1+ Lovely Loners in 2009, and another Air Max 1 in 2018. Patta and Parra are not to be confused with each other, but they have shared history and itās all love between the two. In fact, the former tapped up the latter to design their final 5th anniversary Air Max 1 back in 2010, the Cherrywood. With so much love shown to the Air Max 1 by Amsterdammers, itās no surprise that Nike used the silhouette to pay their own tribute to the city in 2020.
The Italian Underground
Photo by Sha Ribeiro
Italyās love affair with the Air Max 97 can be traced back to the adoption of the shoe as a uniform by graffiti writers in Milan and Rome, and clubbers from the house scene in Naples, according to the author and editor Lodovico Pignatti Morano. Over time, Nike, in return, has saluted Italian Air Max Culture with an AM97 dressed in the countryās military camo, but theyāve also shown their appreciation with Italy-exclusive iterations of the OG Air Max 97 Silver Bullet and Metallic Gold. Possibly the most sought-after of the Italo-97s, though, is 2010ās limited edition Lux, which was made in Italy from its famously fine leather. Surprisingly, the Air Max 95 Lux, which was also made in Italy, predates the 97 by nine years, although Supreme released an updated version in 2019.
Back to Paris
Thereād be no Air Max if it wasnāt for Paris, so itās perhaps no coincidence that the first-ever Air Max 90 collaboration resulted in an elusive French exclusive – the Courir x Nike Air Max 90 āDenimā, which was only available in womenās sizes.Ā
Photo via: @escalopeviandehache
The French capitalās significance is not only enshrined in the shoeās history, it was immortalised in the form of two fittingly eye-catching make-ups of the Air Max 1: āCentre Pompidou By Day/By Nightā. The two colourways cast a heartfelt spotlight on the building that birthed the bubble – the building that, like the bubble, went from ridiculous idea to respected innovation overnight.
Big in Berlin
Photo via SNS
Speaking of the night, thatās what the Air Max 180 BLN took cues from to celebrate the clubbing culture of Germanyās capital. Berliners have had a lot to celebrate since the 1989 fall of the infamous Wall, and theyāve been doing it with bold, electronic efficiency from day one, so itās no surprise that Nike chose to recognise this with a shoe juxtaposing the neon of strobe lights and fluorescent rave garments with the grey of the cityās brutalist construction.
Even without well-known names attached, Nike has managed to create hype around Air Max releases by including subtle references to the subcultures that made the shoes such coveted commodities. The Air Max 90 Side A and Side Bās nods to the arts of DJing and sampling – two crafts that are part of hip-hop and grimeās DNA – are perfect examples of this.
Thereās a genuine feeling of community associated with Air Max, and this is also something Nike has successfully tapped into time and time again. The unsung heroes of the sneaker community are honoured often, whether itās through collaborations with independent sneaker stores such as Opium on an Air Max 180 and Foot Patrol on an Air Max 90; or with UK youth culture platform The Basement, whose series of London, Manchester, and Glasgow-themed Air Max 90s were some of the most talked-about releases of 2019.Ā
Masters of Air
But the undisputed heroes are the collectors, and Nike has already awarded a particular nine the ultimate badge of honour. The Masters of Air are a group of Air Max enthusiasts from all over the world that Nike contacted and assembled in 2017 for the purpose of being recognised for their world-class collections and masterminding a commemorative shoe. The outcome was the unforgettable Air Max 1 Master, plus an unforgettable experience for the lucky collective.
The Air Max is still just as relevant now as it was 35 years ago, and you only have to look as far as the final six designs that won Nikeās On Air competition to see that inspiration is the fabric of imagination. We hope youāll look further though! Happy Air Max Day.
