Browsing the "Classics Revisited: Nike Air Max 1" Tag
August 17th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK PART 2
Completing the second week of Air Max 1 highlights in Classics Revisited is an early 2000′s colorway dubbed the ‘Storm’. Although it has no true connection with a major retailer or cult-followed artist, the Air Max 1 ‘Storm’ is a bonafide classic that likely belongs in the collection of ‘older’ sneakerheads – aka those who have been on the Air Max 1 tip for a while. Featuring a speckled midsole and an outstanding colorway, this Air Max 1 release was part of an unofficial ‘Storm Pack’, which included an equally rugged Air Burst. The Air Max 1 was released only in select accounts in the U.S. as well as in Europe and Japan, so deadstock pairs don’t exactly pop up too often. Although it is considered a ‘general release’, the ‘Storm’ Air Max 1 is regarded as highly as other big-ticket collaborations of that era. If you’ve got the Storms in your collection, you’ve earned a nice thumbs up from us!
Nike Air Max 1 ‘Storm’
Dark Charcoal/Tennessee Orange-Abyss
302740-081
2002
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August 16th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK PART 2
Next up on the Classics Revisited list of icons is a tribute – in the form of one of Nike’s most historic running sneakers – to Steve Prefontaine, the legendary track-star that cemented Nike’s roots in the firm foundation of running history. Steve Prefontaine was a nationwide standout in the sport and served as one of the proteges for University of Oregon track coach and Nike founder Bill Bowerman, but Prefontaine’s untimely death at the age of 24 stopped the legend too early and too soon. In 2007, Nike Sportswear paid homage to Prefontaine with the Nike Air Max 1 ‘Skulls’ Pack; the shoe was built with leather, suede, and ripstop nylon uppers and featured a unique embroidered logo of a skull and crossbones on the heel – the team logo of Prefontaine’s alma mater Marshfield High School. Both colorways were released in early 2007 and are widely recognized as the ‘Skulls’ Pack, although the nickname of ‘Prefontaine Pack’ should very much be in the mix! Check out both colorways below and stay tuned for yet another Air Max 1 classic tomorrow.
Nike Air Max 1 ‘Prefontaine/Skull’ Pack
Classic Green/Barely Grey-Medium Grey
307133-301
02/2007
Old Royal/Tango-Black-Anthracite
307133-481
03/2007
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August 15th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK PART 2
So you think the Atmos x Air Max 1 or the DJCK x Air Max ’112′ was the first Air Max 1 to feature elephant print? Guess you forgot about these. Continuing with Classics Revisited is a the tail-end of a back-t0-back of Nike Air Max 1 No-Liners; “No-Liner” signifies the unpadded upper, giving the ankle collar area a slimmed down appeal much like on the contemporary ‘Deconstruct’ models of the Air Force 1 and Dunk High (‘NL’ has been done with the Dunk High before as well). Although the amount of Air Max 1 NL releases were rather small, the leather-built NL construction provided the sporty Air Max 1 with more of a lifestyle appeal, even when transformed into one of the most iconic basketball shoes of all-time – the Air Jordan III. In late 2005, Nike released two colorways of the Nike Air Max 1 NL with the sparsely used elephant print on mudguard uppers and colored up in familiar AJ3 colorways (although the Neutral Grey had a light beige tone to it), and not surprisingly, both Premium releases were instant hits and cleared out of stores quickly. More of this Air Max 1 classic duet below, so take a look and let us know if these are sitting in your sneaker collection.
Nike Air Max 1 NL
Black/Black-Varsity Red
313227-001
2005
Neutral Grey/Neutral Grey-Varsity Red
313227-002
2005
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August 13th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK PART 2
Our daily Classics Revisited features have covered a wide range or models, beginning with the Air Foamposite One and arriving last week to the Nike Blazer. While we’ve touched on plenty of classics, the days of the week weren’t enough to bring to light all the great installments within each model, so we’re gonna take another trip back to the Air Max 1 and go for a second helping of Air Max 1 classics. Kicking off Air Max 1 Week Part 2 is the 2004 release of the ‘Urawa’; this special Japan-only release was a tribute to the Urawa Dragons (aka Urawa Red Diamonds) J League Football Club, featuring the team’s kit as the primary colorway. Not many Air Max 1s over the years have interchanged the classic ‘Nike Air’ embroidered logo on the heel, but the Urawa Dragons is one of the few exceptions. This 2004 release is a bonafide classic in the historic Air Max 1 catalog, so take a look at this classic Air max 1 release below and let us know if you have these in your collection.
Nike Air Max 1 ‘Urawa’
Jersey Red/White-Metallic Silver-Deep Red
309740-611
2004
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May 18th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK
Finishing off this string of Air Max 1 collaborations is 2006′s partnership with legendary UK-based artist Ben Drury. Drury, who was world-renown for his extensive work in the music industry, composing the artwork for label Mo’Wax, first collaborated with Nike Sportswear in 2006 as part of the Tier Zero ‘Air U Breathe’ Pack, which featured the Air Max 1, Air Stab, and Air Max 360. His Air Max 1 design was inspired by the pirate radio scene in London, featuring a 3M reflective mudguard with black premium leather and the distinguishing pulsar stitch detailing on the heel as well as the custom insole, mimicking the strong signals of radio transmissions – a common theme in all of Drury’s work. ‘Hold Tight’ is derived from industry verbage when the words were barked out when something special was about to go down – whether it be an exhilarating ride at a theme park or a song from the radio. The Ben Drury x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Hold Tight’ also came accompanied with a matching t-shirt, bag, and Nike Windrunner jacket – all of which were distributed in limited quantities.
The five Air Max 1 gems shown this week in Classics Revisited are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cataloging the greatest Air Max 1s in history; with a wide library to cover, we chose to select five of the most dazzling colorways and thoughtful inspirations – and all just so happened to be collaborative efforts with artists and designers. The collaboration is a phenomenon that seems to occur less frequently than what we’d hope for because Nike has been pumping out some great designs in-house, but getting a unique, outside POV clearly results in something on a different plane of thought, does it not? We will continue our Classics Revisited feature next week with a whole new model, but you can certainly count on us coming back to the Air Max 1 because there’s plenty more to revisit. Refresh your memory on this 2006 classic by checking out the gallery below, and let us know if you’ve got the Hold Tights in your stash!
Ben Drury x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Hold Tight’
Black/White-Medium Grey
314252-011
09/2006
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May 17th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK
The period between 2002 and 2005 was undoubtedly the Golden Era of sneaker collaborations. The list of top-shelf influencers in art, fashion, hip-hop and everything relevant mixed in-between is one of the most impressive rosters you’ll ever see, and it was then that names like Stash, Atmos, Diamond Supply, and Supreme came out some of the sickest Nike bangers during that span. Each collaboration showcased an individual attitude and style, but few exude the level of sublime European luxury like the Kid Robot x Nike Air Max 1, designed by Paul Budnitz and Chad Phillips of Kid Robot. Originally releasing on February 11th, 2005 as an exclusive item to Barneys on Madison and 61st St. in New York City, the Air Max 1 ‘Kid Robot’ was the perfect mix of the playful Kid Robot charisma with the foreign supercar swag of the 1986 Maserati Quattroporte III Royale, and with the inspiration set in stone, Paul and Chad arrived at the flawless colorway of Black, Metallic Gold, and Hot Pink, with the Kid Robot mascot watching guard on the heel.
The Kid Robot Air Max 1 came boxed in a limited edition slide-out package accompanied by a Kid Robot figurine and one of five different blind sockliners packaged in Kid Robot’s signature foil bag. The sockliners were all distinct from one another, designed individually by five different artists (Gary Baseman, Dalek, David Horvath, Huck Gee, and Frank Kozik). In addition to the released version, an unreleased sample with metallic gold thread embroidery on the Kid Robot figurine on the heel was produced, as well as a Hyperstrike ‘Friends & Family’ version with a Hot Pink upper. This 2005 classic was Kid Robot’s sole partnership with Nike and continues to be one of the most sought after grails among Air Max fanatics worldwide, and with such a limited number in circulation the hunt will likely see no immediate end. Click below for the full Classics Revisited breakdown of the Kid Robot x Nike Air Max 1 below and let us know where this ranks among the greatest sneaker collaborations in history!
Kid Robot x Nike Air Max 1
Black/Black-Hot Pink-Metallic Gold
311745-001
02/11/05
$150
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May 16th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK
The label HUF is one that you’ve probably heard of – not just from sneaker circles, but among the most well-known skate/streetwear brands of the last generation. NYC-native Keith Hufnagel opened up HUF’s doors in August 2002 and has gone on to become one of the icons of the ‘collaboration’, working frequently with Nike on various footwear classics like the skate-equipped Dunk High and Air Trainer 1 as well as a few other Air Maxes while coining the term ‘Hufquake’ in the process. The debut of the HUF x Nike partnership was this memorable Air Max 1, which featured a Grey/Green colorway and Black/Green laces; the version you see here is a Hyperstrike/Friends & Family version with just 24 pairs in circulation, and featured a number of distinguishing features from the released version with the stitched San Franciscan skyline, the perforated leather toe-box, and the custom baseball-inspired insole.
Aside from the rare Hyperstrike version were a few scrapped samples that featured the same color-blocking, but with orange and pink instead of the Dark Apple green seen here – both of which continue to circulate and turn heads whenever they surface. HUF continues to be a mainstay in the apparel and footwear game with its original product line and ongoing collaborations with a slew of other footwear labels, so revisiting one of the earliest stateside Air Max 1 collaborations was certainly a no-brainer on our part. Continue reading for a detailed gallery of the HUF x Nike Air Max 1 and stay tuned to Sneaker News because we’ve got more AM1 goodies headed your way in Classics Revisited!
HUF x Nike Air Max 1
Anthracite/Dark Apple-Medium Grey
302740-031
Summer 2004
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May 15th, 2012 by John K.
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NIKE AIR MAX 1 WEEK
Continuing on from yesterday’s profile of 2002′s Atmos x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Safari’ in our Classics Revisited section is another collaboration banger of the 2000′s – the Nike Air Max 1 ‘Amsterdam’ designed by Dutch artist Parra. For those who are newer to the game, Parra’s name might ring a bell thanks to 2010′s three-way partnership of Parra, Patta, and Nike with the famed ‘Parra x Patta x Air Max 1‘, but Parra’s first project with the shoe was this 2005 Tier Zero (back when TZ meant something) release from the Capitol Series, which is considered to be one of the most-coveted Air Max 1s of all-time. Want a deadstock pair? You’re gonna need to shell out at least a grand (that’s bottom dollar we’re talking), but believe it or not, some of Amsterdams actually hit the notorious outlet down in Florida as B-Grades (some lucky bubs managed to get these for a mere $30). Along with the sick color combination of burgundy, pink, and turquoise blue was the ‘Amsterdam’ logos on the heel and tongue giving the shoe a rich territorial theme, but these released in Paris, London, and Berlin as well as the home city of Amsterdam.
The overall production numbers of the Air Max AMS isn’t quite clear as they were not individually numbered (possibly around 200-250 pairs), but it’s been noted that these were not produced above a size 11.5. Alongside this limited release of the Air Max AMS was a Friends-and-Family version that featured Parra’s trademark script logo stitched on the outer toe (just 24 pairs), and curiously enough, plus-11.5 sizes exist only in the Parra embroidered versions, with just two size 13s said to be in ‘circulation’. A sample version in orange/blue, inspired by plastic bags of a supermarket in Amsterdam called Albert Heijn, was also created; contrary to public belief, the sample version never officially released and was rejected by Nike in favor of the version we see today. Some final words on Parra: he’s a self-taught Dutch illustrator who has done work for Nike as well as skate brands Etnies and Zoo York in his earlier years and has done collaborations with Converse, Vans, and much more – all while maintaining his own clothing label Rockwell. A gallery of this Air Max 1 classic is just ahead, so let us know if you own one of the rare pairs and check back with us tomorrow for another great feature on an Air Max 1 icon!
Parra x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Amsterdam’
Brownstone/Blue Reef-Dark Oak
313188-241
08/2005
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