This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
The first day to celebrate Air Max came eight years ago on March 26, 2014 as Nike started what would become an annual tradition of celebrating one of the most important franchises in the company’s history – Air Max.
Ever since the sophomore edition of the spring holiday, Nike has taken advantage of all eyes on Air to introduce some new takes on classics and new Air Max creations that will hopefully become future classics for the Air Max anthology.
As we look forward to Air Max Day coming later this month and a new model that has surfaced this year, the Nike Air Max Dawn, we look back at some of the best new models that have come to the Air Max lineup in celebration of Air Max Day.
The Nike Air Max Dawn is available now at Nike.com in women and kids sizes.
Nike Air Max Zero
What’s better than the original Air Max 1? How about the one that preceded it? That’s right – there was an Air Max shoe that came before the Nike Air Max 1 in 1987 except it didn’t release until 2015. Tinker Hatfield’s back catalog and unreleased samples is one that any musician would be jealous of, but thankfully his original sketches came to life nearly 30 years later when the Nike Air Max Zero dropped in 2015.
Nike Air Vapormax
Nike took Air to the limit with the Vapormax that was unveiled to select media in 2016 and then released in 2017 for Air Max festivities. The shoes featured a revolutionary outsole took the phrase “walking on air” to the most literal sense. No midsole foam and only minimal strips of rubber on the outsole maximized the amount of air you could get into a shoe. It’s been five years since the debut of the Vapormax and the tech is still going strong.
Nike Air Max 270
Retro reissues and remixes became a staple for Air Max Month by 2018, but Nike really took things up a notch when they borrowed some inspiration on the design and the name of the Nike Air Max 270. The shoe is better known by sneakerheads as the Nike Air Max 93, but the breakthrough design back in the day by Tinker was extending the air bubble completely around the heel. The tubular-like shape of the bag not only gave a nice ride, but also some support, but what really set the shoe off was the Nike React that your heel hit for an even softer ride.
Nike Air Max 720
The year that followed the Air Max 270, Nike finished what they started in extending the Air around the heel and took it all the way forward for the Air Max 720. I know what you’re thinking – isnt’ that 360 degrees? Well, Nike couldn’t leave the number flip of 270 to 720 alone and 720 is twice as good as 360. Ok, that’s enough math.
Nike Air Max 2090
What would the Air Max 90 look like if it were released in ’20? Nike answered that and had a pretty easy to interpret name (at least until there’s a conflict 70 years later). The Nike Air Max 2090 brought together the visual design elements familiar to many with the Air Max 90 with some modern twists and tech upgrades including a much large Air Max unit. We might have all been locked down at the start of the pandemic, but nothing can hold back a great shoe.
Nike Air Max Pre Day
Nike honored the past and a legend to the brand with the Nike Air Max Pre Day. Drawing inspiration from the Nike Daybreak and adding in Air Max, the brand told a story of Nike’s roots in running and of Pre Fontaine who was one of the first icons of the sport to run in Nike’s on the biggest stage.
