Nike’s Air Max line started in 1987 when designer Tinker Hatfield, inspired by the Centre Pompidou in Paris, created the concept of visible Air for the Air Max 1 sneaker. The line has grown since then and put out a new shoe every year. There are plenty of classics that people are familiar with: The Air Max 90, Air Max 95, Air Max 97, and the list goes on. But there are also models that have slipped under the radar, either due to similarities to other Air Max models or they were never that popular upon release. As Nike continues to scrap the bottom of the barrel for shoes to retro, which saw the recent re-release of the Air Max2 Light, it is worth discovering which models haven’t seen the day of light.
For Air Max connoisseurs, the shelf life of shoes is limited. The midsoles crumble, the Air bags deflated, and the shoes fall apart. So most shoes that are over 10 years old can’t be worn. That’s why retros, and good ones, are so important.