Culture code: Nike Air Max Plus
It’s no secret that the phenomenon of the popularity of sports shoes is inextricably linked to culture. Many classic sneaker silhouettes are associated with a particular clothing style, lifestyle or youth movement. Sneaker The Street Beat Encyclopedia of Stores introduces a Culture Code column that will explore the causes of these phenomena. In this first post, we’ll take a look at the Nike Air Max Plus and the background behind some of the most progressive Maxs in history.
How did the Nike Air Max TN come about?
Designer Sean McDowell joined Nike in 1997. At the time, the American brand worked with major sneaker chain Foot Locker on an exclusive silhouette, codenamed Sky Air. The main feature of the novelty was to be a sole with advanced Tuned Air cushioning, but the brand and the retailer could not agree on the project in any way. Before McDowell began designing the sneaker, Foot Locker rejected fifteen different sketches. There was no margin for error, one of Nike’s largest partners had high hopes for a unique product.
When the designer found out the name of the project, he remembered a recent vacation in Florida, where, in the shade of palm leaves, he watched sunsets of stunning depth, changing from day to day in rich shades of cyan, blue and magenta. Sean McDowell reflected his impressions in the design of the sneakers. Upper construction, materials and colors, branding and reflectors – every detail has been designed by McDowell. Despite the experience and the availability of guidelines, the beginner created many elements of the sneakers in a unique author’s style. For example, the Swoosh logo has a longer and narrower shape simply because the designer made a mistake in drawing the sketch.
In the production of samples, the company faced a number of difficulties. McDowell was sent to Asia to work with samples on site. After several changes, the project was finally approved and the Nike Air Max TN went on sale in 1998. At the time of release, these were the most expensive Maxs in the history of the franchise, but the high price did not scare away buyers and the sneakers became a hit. Originally designed for running, the Air Max TN was an instant hit on the streets as well, with a swift silhouette with striking air-and-springs soles adopted by fashionistas and subcultures alike.
Europe and Australia, chava and eshay
When the sneaker was ready for the first edition, Nike executives still had doubts about the appropriateness of the release. For all its beauty, the design felt a little too daring, so Nike’s Mark Parker and one of the Foot Locker executives decided to experiment. To make sure the product would be in demand, a sample of the sneakers was displayed in a shop window near the school. When the last bell rang, the children surrounded the unprecedented sneakers and it became clear that the release could no longer be delayed.
During the original years, Foot Locker stores dominated Europe. At first, the Nike Air Max TN was the retailer’s exclusive model, where the sneaker was featured on the most prominent shelves with the most expensive products. At that time, the high cost of a pair was directly reflected in the perception of sneakers, so the prestigious status of the Air Max TN was born literally out of the blue: they were one of the most valuable sneakers, every teenager dreamed of them. The Air Max TN was especially popular in England, France and Holland, where the model infiltrated the wardrobes of chavs, electronic music fans and football fans.
In contrast, Nike Air Max TN sneakers are known to be undervalued in the US. The reasons for this are still unknown, but at the same time, in Australia, the model showed phenomenal results and became the unofficial shoe of local youth. Here, the silhouette was in demand among the eshai subculture, which is very similar to the European chavs. Ashey were more aggressive and more crime-prone, which is why the Air Max TN outsole is one of the most common in Australian police filing cabinets.
Today, the Nike Air Max TN is released under the name Air Max Plus. Surprisingly, the silhouette still surrounds the background that formed around the sneaker in the 90s. The interest of the millennial generation has come to the Air Max Plus in the wake of the popularity of grime, a musical genre at the intersection of garage that is closely associated with street fashion and crime networks. In 2018, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, the model was reissued in key original colors and various new seasonal variations. Since then, Air Max Plus has never left the Nike lifestyle line, and now appears in almost every collection of the brand.
