It’s been 20 years since Nike first debuted the classic Air Max 95, which marked a big shift in the performance running sneaker market at the time. With its distinct wavy lines across its upper, gradient gray color scheme, and bright neon yellow accents, the original model was a bold, provocative silhouette that had not been preceded by any model before its time. Nike brought on board Nike ACG designer Sergio Lozano to spearhead the project, a trained industrial designer whose four-year experience with tennis and training shoes would bring a fresh perspective to the Air Max family.
The ’90s Sneaker Market
In the early ’90s Nike Basketball was dominating the sneaker market, with the popularity of basketball shoes gaining traction well ahead of runners. Lozano positioned the revolutionary Air Max 95 project as a means to re-capture the public’s attention towards the performance running category.
Initial Design
[slider] 
[—-] 
[—-] 
[—-] 
[—-] 
[/slider]
Lozano recalls, “I remembered something Tinker Hatfield used to always bring up while working on other projects, he would say, ‘Okay, so that’s a great design, but what’s your story?’” Inspiration for the 95 came to him one rainy day in Nike headquarters’ home of Beaverton, Oregon; “I was looking across the lake out into the trees and I began picturing the process of rain eroding the earth and thought it would be interesting if the perfect product was unearthed by erosion,” says Lozano. He took further influences from the anatomy of the human body, where the forms of human muscles and vertebrae were locked into the design. The final shoe had an upper with layered panels that resembled muscle fibers and flesh, Nylon eyelets that were fashioned after ribs, a midsole that took after the spine, and a gradient that resembled geographical striations of eroded rock walls.
New Color, New Swoosh
Lozano wanted to minimize the appearance of dirt, mud, and wear-and-tear that the shoe would achieve over time and use, so he prioritized the use of the gradient gray even when told that the colorway would not sell. The signature neon yellow shade too is a direct nod towards Nike’s race kit that continues to incorporate bright colors. This neon “Volt” colorway has since become a heritage-defining Nike color theme that is consistently reissued for other silhouettes.
The first 95 prototype didn’t have the Swoosh logo at all. Eventually it came to incorporate the minimal branding as a small accent, with an unconventional placement that could not distract attention from the undulating lines of the upper. Lozano told Sneaker Freaker, “from the design to the color to the little Swoosh, it all caused controversy. I had initially designed the shoe without a Swoosh because we believed the design was aesthetically strong… so we positioned it as a signature, a sign off on the shoe.”
Reception
The 95 was a brand new approach to runner cushioning by being the first-ever shoe to also feature the visible Air unit in the forefoot. It was also the first Air Max model to have a black midsole. Despite these innovations, the Air Max 95 was considered an outcast. Yet with its unique colorway, Swoosh placement, and dual air-powered cushioning system, the unapologetically brash Air Max 95 quickly progressed into a youth culture icon. This was especially so throughout Europe and Australia. A smaller following in America includes the likes of Spike Lee, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith. Much of the hip-hop community are also big fans of the Air Max 95, such as 2 Chainz, Big Boi, Eminem, The Game, Busta Rhymes, Gucci Mane, DJ Khaled, Nelly, T.I., Danny Brown, T-Pain and Wale.
[slider] 
“I’ll kill you if you try me for my Air Max 95s,” — The Game, “Hate It Or Love It” (2005). The Bloods’ signature shoe was the Air Max 95 while the Crips had the Air Max 98s.[—-] 
“95 Air Max cause I’m a dope runner,” — Gucci Mane, “Bricks” (2009).[—-] 
[/slider]
Notable Colorways and Collaborations
[slider] 
Nike Air Max 95 Atmos Supreme “Animal” Pack[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 2015 Summer “Independence Day”[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 “London” from the “City” Pack[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 Silver/Charcoal Grey JD Sports Exclusive[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 2014 Fall/Winter “Safari”[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 2014 Fall/Winter “Halloween”[—-] 
Stash x Nike Air Max 95 2006 collaboration with New York-based graffiti artist Stash[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 “Black Grape”[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 2006 “Human Torch” from the “Fantastic Four” Pack[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 “Country Camo” UK[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 “Country Camo” Japan[—-] 
NFL x Nike Air Max 95 “NFC East” Pack[/slider]
The Air Max 95 Legacy
[slider]
Nike Air Max 95 Ultra[—-] 
Nike Air Max 95 Ultra “Jacquard” “Volt”[—-] 
[—-] 
[—-] 
[—-] 
[/slider]
“The Air Max 95’s greatest strength, its individuality, was also its greatest hurdle,” Nike’s website states. As the first of its kind, the model has considerably paved the way for other forthcoming silhouettes of similarly ostentatious designs, such as the Air Max Plus — known on the street and overseas as the Tuned 1 or TNs — that released in 1998. The subsequent Air Max 97 was also another iteration of the wavy-lined upper. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Nike will be releasing the original model in its original box along with two new Air Max 95s: the Air Max 95 Ultra, designed by Air Max Ultra and Roshe One designer Dylan Raasch, and the Air Max 95 Ultra “Jacquard,” designed by Ben Yun. The Ultra “Jacquard will be launched in the neon “Volt” colorway as well as Total Orange, Black, White and Blue. The new releases drop July 16.
Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast.com
via. Hypebeast
