For its 30th anniversary, the Nike Air Max gets reimagined by Riccardo Tisci and others

To mark the 30th anniversary of Nike’s Air Max sneaker, NikeLab has collaborated with three innovators to reimagine and create their own Air Max sneakers.

Riccardo Tisci has tweaked the Air Max 97 with a midcut silhouette that comes in navy and features a white outsole, foil accents and embossed logos.

“I gave the shoe more height. I think it’s much more street. It’s a new kind of stance, one which I would want in my wardrobe,” said Tisci, who recently left Givenchy. “The shoes had a huge influence and a huge impact in Italian culture. For me the shoes are classic, but not classic in the boring way. Classic in the way like when you are looking up in Rome, seeing the architecture and the sculptures.”

Tisci began his relationship with Nike in 2014, and has since designed a series of sneakers for the brand, which was recently named one of the most valuable apparel lines. Earlier this year Tisci, who is a self-proclaimed sneakerhead, created the NikeLab Dunk Lux Chukka x RT.

“Fashion is having a big moment with sportswear, which is good,” said Tisci of the current streetwear and sneaker craze. “But I think honesty is what people really want in design.”

Marc Newson, a NikeLab industrial designer, looked to a traditional moccasin for his lightweight Air Max, which uses Nike’s FlyKnit and VaporMax technology and is made from a full-grain leather chassis and Velcro strap that covers a Nike Flyknit sockliner.

Arthur Huang, an architect and chief executive officer of Miniwiz, an upcycling company, looked to new materials to create the lightest Air Max 1 ever produced. The all black style will come with a lightweight package made of consumer materials that have been recycled.

The shoes will be available on Air Max Day, March 26. Tisci’s style retails for $200, Huang’s is priced at $250 and Newson’s retails at $275.

Launch Gallery: NikeLab Introduces Air Max Styles Designed by Innovators

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