Air Max Day is approaching and sneakerheads are excited about the release of the ‘Safari’ pack (Air Max 1 & Air Max 95) this weekend, and not to forget the Sean Wotherspoon Nike Air Max 97/1. Before we celebrate the birth of the iconic Air Max on 26th of March, we believe some of you should fill yourself in with some knowledge about a few Air Max 1’s that you should know of. Check it out:
1. Nike Air Max 1 SP ‘German Camo’
This pair was released only to “family and friends” when Nike opened their latest store in Berlin with a limited run of 50 pairs worldwide. The detail that separates this pair from the other Camo executions during that time is the black kick guard.
2. Nike Air Max 1 ‘+41’
Nike collaborated with clothing brand +41 to produce this rare pair where rumors say that the theme behind this pair is ‘mythical’. The theme was meant to attract people’s attention hence explains the ‘eyes’ on the tongue of this pair. This pair was released in only one store worldwide with a limited production of 41 pairs worldwide. This pair is definitely an eye-catcher if you are ever lucky to come across a pair.
3. Nike Air Max 1 x Eminem ‘Big Proof’
This collaboration was designed by the man Eminem himself as a part of an auction for his own charity, the Marshall Mathers Foundation. The name of this collaboration, ‘Big Proof’, is to honor one of the D12 crew member and his friend DeShaun ‘Big Proof’ Holton who was killed back in 2006. There are only 8 pairs in existence worldwide, and chances are if you would to even offer a big sum of money for these, Air Max collectors will never let these go. Good luck finding a pair.
4. Nike Air Max 1 x HUF
We know there are multiple collaborations between Keith Hufnagel’s HUF and Nike but this Air Max 1 collaboration was his debut. This pair is a “family and friends” edition which differs from the Quickstrike version, donning the SF skyline, perforated toe box, and custom insole. There are only 24 pairs worldwide which make this pair one of the needed gems in any Air Max collector’s closet.
5. Nike Air Max 1 x Kid Robot
Air Max 1 collectors know that the Air Max 1 Kid Robot is one of the better built Air Max 1 with its premium leather featured on the upper. If you have not held a pair, you may recognize this leather on the recently released AM1 Masters last year. Kid Robot’s inspiration behind this highly sought after pair is a 1986 Maserati Quattroporte III and with such inspiration, the collaboration was ensured to be scarce with only 250 pairs produced and was released exclusively at Barneys.
6. Nike Air Max 1 ‘Big Window’
You may recognize this pair as the recent Nike Air Max 1 OG ‘Anniversary’ but its time to trace back to your Air Max 1 roots. This pair is not familiarly known to many, but the Air Max 1 OG had a previous predecessor which is exactly the same silhouette just with a slight difference where the OG pair had a bigger, longer visible air unit. It was originally released in 1986 and was given the nickname, the “Big Window”. The ‘Big Window’ was used in Nike’s iconic ad campaign, even though the OG silhouette was the one that went to market.
7. Nike Air Max 1 x Kid Robot (Hyperstrike)
As mentioned previously in regards to the Nike Air Max 1 Kid Robot, this pair is the Hyperstrike edition where Nike teamed up with Barneys NYC and Kidrobot to release both colorways of this model. The full pink Hyperstrike edition is rumored to be for “family and friends” only with a limited run of 72 worldwide and was released in 2005.
8. Nike Air Max 1 x Parra ‘Amsterdam’
Nike teamed up with Dutch Designer Piet Parra back in 2005 to release a Tier Zero Air Max 1 dubbed the ‘Amsterdam’. After the “Albert Heijn” colorway was scrapped, Parra went back to the drawing board and came up with a Red Light District-inspired colorway. The pair featured a nice mixture of Burgundy, Pink and Baby Blue tones with insoles that displayed Parra’s signature illustrative styling. There are two different editions for this collaboration, the Quickstrike and the Hyperstrike (friends & family) edition where the two differences are the existence of Parra’s iconic embroidered tag on the mudguard of the Hyperstrike edition and the quantity produced for the Hyperstrike is much lesser with a limited run of 24 pairs worldwide while the Quickstrike with 200 – 250 pairs.
9. Nike Air Max 1 ‘Albert Heijn’
It is as if almost whenever Dutch illustrator and graphic designer Piet Parra collaborates with Nike on an Air Max 1, it becomes gold or a holy grail for Air Max Collectors. This specific colorway pays homage to the largest Dutch supermarket. However, before the sneaker could release, the supermarket changed their signature colors which caused this pair to get scrapped from production. This colorway was released in limited quantities for “family and friends” with a count of 24 pairs worldwide.
10. Nike Air Max 1 x Patta x Parra ‘Cherrywood’
This three-way collaboration between Nike, Patta, and Parra is definitely a grail for most Air Max 1 collectors. Nike teamed up with Patta to celebrate their fifth anniversary which involved five Air Max 1’s, using lots of different colors and materials across the board. Piet Parra contributed to the design as you may easily observe on the tongue of this Air Max 1. This grail was given the nickname, ‘Burgundy Pattas’ or more familiarly known as ‘Cherrywood’ and was available in very limited quantities.
If you made it through the post, congratulations! You have another ten pairs to aim after Air Max Day to be declared an avid Air Max 1 collector. Take in more ‘Air’ and good luck to everyone for the upcoming release for this year’s Air Max Day!
