Nike Retro Future

This iridescent color treatment of some of Nike’s most iconic Air Max units is designed to turn heads.

A History of Air

When Frank Rudy first approached Nike in 1977 with an idea to use encapsulated air as a cushioning system for athletic shoes, the aerospace engineer’s vision almost never got off the ground. It took Nike co-founder Phil Knight running in a prototype for the idea to land. After that, Nike Air cushioning was born, debuting in the Nike Air Tailwind sneakers at the 1978 Honolulu Marathon.

Fast-forward to 1987, and the Air cushioning technology had already branched out to basketball in the Nike Air Force 1 highs and lows. Now, it had come time to spark a revolution: the Nike Air Revolution. 

For that game-changing running shoe, architect-turned-designer Tinker Hatfield drew inspiration from the Pompidou Centre, a multi-use building in Paris with exposed-metal infrastructure. Nike had been using its innovative Air cushioning system, but it was always hidden away inside the midsole. Hatfield designed a window in the side of the midsole to finally expose it to the world.

The world joined the revolution and made Nike Air Max running shoes some of the most popular footwear in history. So hot were subsequent releases that the company still re-releases some of those greatest hits — the chunky midsole and layered upper of the Air Max 90, the anatomically inspired rib-and-bones design of the Air Max 95 sneakers, and the wavy upper of the Air Max 97 that recalls the disruption of a body of water.

Move Forward with Throwbacks

Nike reimagines these classic kicks with an iridescent finish on the midsoles for the Nike Throwback Future collection. This adds a spacey look to the Nike Air Max 270 sneakers, which opens up 270 degrees of visibility to the Air cushioning; the Air Max 720, which goes full length with its translucent cushioning; and the Air Max Plus, released in 1998 as a debut of Tuned Air. 

You can finish your Throwback Future look with some limited-edition apparel, too, whether it’s a Nike graphic T-shirt or a tank top.