Since Nike introduced visible Air cushioning to the world with the Air Max 1 in 1987, Air has served as both an aesthetic signifier and a mark of innovation, first in the performance sphere and then the lifestyle sphere. In 2024, a new chapter of Air begins with the Air Max 1000, a 3D-printed reimagining of the Air Max 1 that was created in collaboration with the 3D footwear-printing masterminds at Zellerfeld.

For its debut, the Air Max 1000 has been dressed entirely in red, a vivid shade that accents the sculptural form of its 3D-printed, laceless upper. Contrast is given by its mixture of smooth and textured print, the former of which appears on the toebox and through the midfoot while the latter offers a carbon fiber-like contrast on the throat, lower half and toe cap. Branding is kept minimal with a single debossed Swoosh, and the heel's crystal-clear Air chamber (which may, in fact, simply be cored out — it's near impossible to tell with certainty from this inaugural set of images) shows the shoe's inner workings as a nod to Tinker Hatfield's Air Max 1 inspiration: the "inside-out" Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

"As an innovator, what's most exciting to me about the Air Max 1000 are the new solutions we can achieve with next-level manufacturing," said John Hoke, Nike's chief innovation officer. "It's control, times precision, times expression — all of which are vital to sport and to design. When those variables are multiplied at once, our product's future feels unlimited."

Stay tuned for info on a release date as it's made available.

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