The Original Nike Air Max 1 Returns

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The Original Nike Air Max 1 Returns

Words by Mr Jonathan Cook

20 September 2017

Find room on your shoe rack for the reissued Nike Air Max 1 in its original eye-popping University Red colourway. But you will have to be quick… .

When it comes to sneakers, you can’t get more classic than the Nike Air Max 1 in its original University Red colourway. Conceived by legendary Nike designer Mr Tinker Hatfield, it was the first shoe to feature the visible air bubble that came to define the Air Max range. But more than being a revolutionary piece of tech, it looked stunning, too.

The bold aesthetic of the original colourway was largely to thank for this. Sleek, graphic and eye-catching, these were shoes that added a pop of vibrant colour to the street style of the late 1980s, shoes that looked like they would not only lighten your step, but make you go that little bit faster. Unfortunately, the original red-and-white iteration is rarely re-issued. As a result, it’s achieved holy grail status for any sneakerhead worth his salt, a fact that was plain to see when, for Nike Air Max Day in March 2017, the year the Nike Air Max 1 turned 30, there was a limited run of the Air Max 1 Anniversary in University Red, which, naturally, sold out almost immediately.

It’s kind of a big deal, then, that the OG version of the Air Max 1 will be back in stores for the second time in a year this month and, more specifically, that we’ve got a healthy amount going live on MR PORTER. Keeping true to the original detailing and shape of the 1987 model, the only update on this iteration of the Air Max 1 is in the inner workings of the design, which offer increased cushioning to make an incredibly comfortable shoe even more of a pleasure to wear.

The University Red Air Max 1 will be available from 21 September, but be quick. You might be waiting a very long time for another chance to own a bona fide piece of sneaker history.