It has been nearly three decades since Nike premiered the Air Max 1 which debuted visible Air, at the time, a new radical technology that transformed footwear design and spurred a franchise so powerful an annual celebration was dedicated in its honour.
Today, the iconic silhouette marks yet another milestone. This time it’s paired, once again, with revolutionary, transformative Nike magic, sorry, technology, Flyknit, to form the Nike Air Max 1 Ultra Flyknit, the lightest Air Max 1 ever. The shoe features open Flyknit construction in the toe and tongue for ventilation and closed construction in the heel provides added support. A no-sew band just above the midsole connects back to the original Air Max 1. The lightweight, flexible ultra tooling maximising on comfort.
Perfected through countless prototypes, spearheaded by the project’s lead designer Ben Yun. Yun says of the project;
“My original idea was to take the original tooling of the Air Max 1 silhouette and play with it to make it flexible, lightweight, free of unnecessary material. Basically that meant removing all the rubber and exposing the air bags. We took this a step further in weight reduction and flexibility by using the Ultra tooling. Flyknit is complex and a fine material that we have to knit it tighter and looser in different areas so that it conforms to the shape and replicates the Air Max 1 silhouette. That lightweight and breathable quality of Flyknit makes the Air Max 1 the perfect shoe to come out in the summertime.”
The Nike Air Max 1 Ultra Flyknit will be featured on NIKEiD and are available from July 28.
