Air Max Day: A Brief History of Nike's Famous Cushioning

Since 2014, Nike has celebrated their most impactful sneaker line on March 26th with their self-proclaimed holiday called Air Max Day. Some years, like this year, the celebration consists of simply a handful of new releases of Air Max runners. While other years, like 2016, The Swoosh goes big with the storytelling, creates content that reminds us of why they're the best in the business, and solidifies the connection we all feel with Air Max fans from around the world.

The first time the world was introduced to Visible Air was with the release of the Nike Air Max 1 in 1987. Inspired by the Pompidou Center in Paris and its glass escalators that surround the outside of the museum, Tinker Hatfield flipped the concept of Nike's famous Air cushioning from a hidden technology embedded in foam to a head-turning feature of Nike's shoes.

Although Tinker Hatfield made Nike Air famous by including it in his design aesthetic, it was a man named Marion Franklin Rudy that invented Air cushioning in the late 1970s that made it all possible. The first shoe with Rudy's "Air" cushioning was the Air Tailwind in 1978 but it would take another 8 years for people to "see" his vision. The first time the world was introduced to Visible Air was with the release of the Nike Air Max 1 in 1987. Inspired by the Pompidou Center in Paris and its glass escalators that surround the outside of the museum, Tinker Hatfield flipped the concept of Nike's famous Air cushioning from a hidden technology embedded in foam to a head-turning feature of Nike's shoes. 

Throughout the years, Nike has been pushing the limits of how much Air they could into a shoe. Since most are familiar with commonly retroed models like the Air Max 1, Air Max 90, Air Max 95, and countless others that are commonly debated as the greatest Air Max sneakers of all time, we're going to jump ahead to what many would consider the starting point for the modern era of Air Max flagship models. The first outsole/midsole combo to use full Air cushioning with no foam material came in 2006 with the Air Max 360. However, the model wasn't quite up to par with consumer expectations and the brand quickly evolved into a series of "big bag" Air Max models that would stand as the pinnacle of Nike Air throughout the mid-2010s.

In 2015, Nike went back to the future to connect another seemingly forgotten Air Max story to the modern era. The Air Max Zero was a design concept Tinker Hatfield came up with back in the day and for the Air Max Day celebrations, Nike released the shoe in a handful of colorways, including one inspired by those original sketches. What made the Air Max Zero even more special is that it highlighted the connection between generations for Nike's Air Max designers, including Tinker Hatfield and designer of the Air Max Zero, Graeme McMillan. McMillan, a Design Director at the time, discovered the Air Max Zero concepts in Nike's archive. He's since designed countless runners and shoes like Jordan Delta.

It's not just the designers that are deeply connected through the Air Max line. Collectors, creators, and the sneakerhead community is intertwined with passionate fans of the Air Max line and through the years Nike has brought them in to be an integral part of the story, but one year stands out from most. In 2018, Nike outdid themselves for Air Max Day by releasing the Air Max 1/97 hybrid by Sean Wotherspoon. Wotherspoon is well known now but back then he was not the famous collaborator he is today. After winning a design contest, Sean's Air Max dream was made a reality with the release of his shoe. He even gave them away out of a matching VW bus.

Since then we've seen Nike create more modern hybrid styles with a focus on big bubble cushioning that includes shoes like the Air Max 720, Air Max 270, and Air Max 2090, to go along with the retro styles that have been continually celebrated over the past three and a half decades.  In that time, Nike Air has evolved in countless ways to remain one of the industry standards for cushioning and this year the Nike Air Max line celebrates 35 years as arguably the most iconic sneaker line in history.

While retro products from the 1980s and 1990s will always be hugely important in the Air Max story, to me it seems the core belief that Air Max represents is the pushing of the envelope and getting beyond the comfort zone of design, colorways, and maybe even, life as a whole.

How are you celebrating Air Max Day this year? Let us know on IG by tagging us in your photos.