As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Air Max 90 that are set to continue through 2020, Nike have unveiled the Air Max 2090, which is designed to show what the future of sneakers holds, much as the original Air Max 90 did 30 years ago.
Taking cues from what made the Air Max 90 so iconic and future-forward 30 years ago, the Air Max 2090 is designed to illustrate what the future holds. It mixes a range of classic Air Max 90 elements, including the mudguard, heel logo and cassette feature around the air unit, while introducing some new and altered elements. New features of the design include different levels opacity on different panels, from 100 percent opaque on the most supportive materials to see-through on the least supportive and lighter weight materials. This reflects the OG Air Max 90, which used darker colours to underscore the strength in the shoe’s support structure.
A larger Air unit is then highlighted thanks to a 200 percent larger window than the traditional side-visibility Air units seen 30 years ago. The iconic Nike Swoosh was first cropped below on the Air Max 90 – something that has since appeared on the new Mercurial – and the Swoosh of the Air Max 2090 follows the same design ethos, although it's been updated somewhat.
The launch colourways for the new sneaker are, in part, inspired by the future of transportation — an ode to the original Air Max 90’s inspiration drawing from Italian sports cars.
The Nike Air Max 2090 releases globally this spring.
