Nike VaporMax

Air VaporMax

First, Air technology was hidden inside the midsole. In 1987, the Air Max 1 exposed the Air. In 2006, the Air Max 360 replaced foam in the midsole completely. And in 2017, the Nike VaporMax was released, letting people get as close to levitation as sneakers possibly could.

The shoe came from a breakthrough in manufacturing technology that let Nike’s designer, Tom Minami, build a single, stand-alone unit acting both as an outsole and midsole without the need for other materials. While the shoe leans toward simplicity and unity, the VaporMax sole mold is composed of over 39,000 components, taking fifteen attempts to perfect and seven years to complete. It is anything but simple.

The Nike VaporMax technology works like a series of pistons. The foot applies pressure which moves through the semi-freestanding tubes to achieve a soft, evenly-displaced feeling for the wearer. When the foot comes off the ground, the pressure releases, creating a springy bounce. From a design perspective, Minami used a translucent, pillowy aesthetic of the Air Sole to give the impression the wearer is floating or walking on a cloud.

The FlyKnit upper with its naturally grooved texture in the original Pure Platinum colorway reflects a similar nod to the skies, too. The upper is secured to the foot with Nike’s FlyWire lacing system, but still achieves a lightweight feel thanks to the ultralight yarn and seamless fusing to the airbag. This is indicative of a larger streamlining and reduction process that seeks to deliver the actual sensation of walking on air.

The shoe might boast a runner’s sense of cushioning, yet that doesn’t explain the shoe’s massive popularity outside of running circles. That, quite simply, is because it looks cool. Clues to this sentiment are found in Nike x Comme des Garçon collaboration, debuting in October 2016 on the Paris Fashion Week runway. An early release on February 8, 2017 followed, then a month-and-a-half later, Nike released the shoe itself. It is a telling timeline and suggests that Nike envisages the Air VaporMax as a truly modern sports-luxe shoe.