It’s been three decades since the Nike Air Max sneaker was forged in 1987 and the original grail has been re-imagined numerous times through its collaboration with other brands, retailers and artists worldwide.
Nike is recognizing some of its most memorable collabs with the new Air Max “Master”. The kicks were inspired by Nike’s first volume of a documentary series called “Masters of Air” that dropped on Air Max Day 2016. The video follows a select few sneaker enthusiasts from across the world as they illustrate their rich history with the Air Max shoe and its seemingly endless identities.
The theme resumes this year as Nike has incorporated prints and aesthetics from past partnerships like Kid Robot, Amsterdam’s Patta x Parra, Hong Kong’s CLOT and Tokyo’s atmos into the new “Master” kicks. The shoe’s mudguard is an outrageous mash up of former Air Max designs including the OG University Red that nozzles the front, while the upper is glazed in black leather straight from the Kid Robot x Air Max 1 fusion in 2005. Many of the patterns selected were actually from the Air Max “golden era” in the early 2000s when the shoe was rapidly becoming a staple in sneaker culture.
At first glance the shoe blueprint may seem like a random barrage of prints, textures and colours, but for those who’ve avidly followed the heritage of the Air Max sneaker it’s a testament to the many transitions its lived through. In the 10-minute long documentary collectors describe what the Air Max sneaker means to them and their personal story. Whether they are from Paris, Tokyo or Berlin, or if they wore them on first dates, due to injury or for war against life, the shoe was something that they all had in common despite their difference in proximity, environment or style. That is undeniably a cause for celebration this upcoming Air Max Day.
The shoe will drop March 25, 2017 at 10 a.m. EDT.
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