Shoe Story 001: Nike Air Max 1: Performance to Nostalgia
Image via Hypebeast
Buying and collecting sneakers by whatever means necessary is an art, an obsession, the greatest joy of life, a waste of time and money. People go crazy for a pair of shoes for their own unique reasons but for me, it’s all about the story behind the shoes.
Whether you love sneakers or not, you can’t talk about their history without talking about the Nike Air Max 1’s. In 1987, Nike’s Air Max 1 shocked the world with the first ever visible air bubble outsole, but the story starts 10 years before the pair came to life.
In 1977, M. Frank Rudy, a former aerospace engineer, and his business partner Bob Bogert pitched “The Crazy Idea” to Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike: “Mr. Knight, we’ve come up with a way to inject … air … into a running shoe” (Shoe Dog 395).
When the Air Max 1 made its debut in 1987, the shoe was marketed as a state of the art running sneaker: the entire marketing strategy revolved around the performance aspect of the air bubble outsole.
Images via Nike Archive
These are some of the most iconic original print ads published by Nike in 1987. The sneaker’s selling points were the revolutionary forefoot cushioning system, the energy return, its comfortability and durability.
Although Air Max 1’s are still known for their amazing comfortability and durability even 31 years after their release, the way consumers view this shoe and the way Nike advertises the shoe has drastically changed.
Now, the Air Max 1’s are no longer considered a performance sneaker in any way: when you walk into any Nike store, the Air Max 1’s are under sportswear and lifestyle, not running and training. Instead, the Air Max 1’s are now praised for their iconic classic silhouette that can be worn dressed up or down. The silhouette works beautifully with so many different kinds of outfits, and the numerous colorways and materials used in the sneaker add to the aesthetic aspects of the shoe.
Nike’s marketing strategy around the Air Max 1 continues to feed the consumer’s craving for Air Max 1 models through nostalgia: Nike continues to retro the fan-favorite model in its original colorways, adding premium materials and small details to the iconic silhouette.
Image via Nike Archive
