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Nike started its Air Max lineage in 1987 with an Air Max 1 silhouette, courtesy of Tinker Hatfield. Many sneaker fads have faded with time, but the legendary lineage of Air Max has been on the front lines for consumers and sneakerheads.
Since Air Max 1's release in 1987, the line has continued to grow with the release of more silhouettes, including Air Max 90, Air Max 95, Air Max 180, Air Max 360, Air Max 720, and more. The shoe's success has been home to an ever-growing compendium of GRs, collaborations, and more.
Combining unprecedented comfort and striking colorways, the Avant-grande Centre Pompidou, Paris-inspired sneakers, was the first time any shoe gave the Air technology visibility.
The swoosh label's bubbled silhouettes continue to shape the sneaker culture. The walk-on-air trend has become common. However, some of these silhouettes have ended up on the high-end, luxury side.
So, ahead we have listed 5 most-expensive Air Max silhouettes of all time,
5 Nike Air Max sneakers which will burn a hole in your pocket
5) Nike Air Max 90 Current x KAWS Black Volt- $7.5k
Kaws, now a regular partner of Nike, applied his brushstrokes to the Air Max 90 Current silhouette in 2008. Jesse Levya designed the sneakers from the collaborative project in white and black bolts. The black bolt pair became instantly iconic due to its neon colorway use.
The reworked Air Max 90 came constructed with a four-way stretch textile upper inspired by the swoosh label's ACG (All Condition Gear) line. Jesse Levya talked about the collaborative shoes in a press release and said,
"I wanted to create a simple shoe that I could wear, with subtle design elements someone could enjoy on a more personal level."
She added that the iconic footwear style is constructed for trail running. The pair were released on October 18, 2008, exclusively at the swoosh label's flagship store at 21 Mercer, NYC, and The Montalban in Los Angeles.
4) Nike Air Max 1 Kid Robot (2005)- $16k
This is another limited-edition friend and family pair. The pair was a hyperstrike and came out of a three-way collaboration between Nike, Barneys New York, and Kidrobot. The black and pink colorway was designed by Chad Phillips and Paul Budnitz from Kidrobot to look like the Kidrobot's 1986 Maserati Quattroporte III Royale.
The shoes were initially released on February 11, 2005, and were a perfect mix of Black, Hot Pink, and Metallic Gold and featured the Kid Robot mascot to keep a guard on their heels. The sneakers were packaged in a custom shoe box dressed in pink and gold colors.
The shoes are accompanied by a mini Kidrobot keychain and blind-chase sock liners packed in the signature foil bag. The whole package included five limited-edition sock liners, out of which one will be given in the box. The sock liners were created by Kidrobot artists Dalek, Gary Baseman, David Horvath, Frank Kozik, and Huck Gee. The shoes were released in limited units exclusively at the Barneys New York at Madison and 61st Street for a retail price of $150.
3) Parra x Nike Air Max 1 Hyperstrike Albert Heijn (2005) - $20k
Artist Pieter Jansen, aka Parra Patta, collaborated with the swoosh label to pay homage to his hometown, Amsterdam, with the makeover of a pair of Air Max 1. Parra agreed to join the swoosh label for only two pairs, Amsterdam and Albert Heijn. The color scheme of the sneakers represents a Dutch supermarket chain, Albert Heijn.
The colorway is taken from the OG color scheme of the supermarket chain - Blue, White, and Orange. Parra canceled the production of sneakers, and the actual release of colorway Albert Heijn never saw fruition. Due to the fiasco, only 24 pairs were produced, which were given to friends and family of the artist, thus making them rare and expensive.
The sneakers feature a signed-off toe with John Hancock's signature, and the tongue tags are adorned with the iconic crown motif. The pair was produced in 2005 and went off at auction on TheRealReal site for $20,000.
The shoes also feature an embroidered "Parra" branding at the lateral sides, lace-up closures on the uppers, and speckled outsoles to finish the design.
2) Nike Air Max 97 x Eminem Charity Series 2006 - $50k
Eminem has had a long relationship with Nike, from their first collaboration in 2003, and the rapper has partnered up with the swoosh label multiple times. Slim Shady collaborated with Nike for a pair of Air Max 97 in 2006 as a part of the Charity Series. The shoes were sold off at an auction at TheRealReal for $50000 in March 2022.
TheRealReal's sneaker expert Sean Conway said in an interview with Forbes,
“This pair of Slim Shady's is unique because it was one of the earliest examples of a celebrity collaboration, before it was a widely-used concept. Nowadays, celebrity influence and the rise of social media play huge parts in a sneaker's success, so we're excited to shed light on such a throwback piece.”
For Eminem's Charity Series with Nike, he launched eight silhouettes, including Air Max 1, 93, 95, 180, 90, 360, 2003, and 97. For the eight silhouettes, there were a told of 64 units made available for which an auction took place, with all profits going to Marshall Mathers Foundation and ninemillion.org.
This Air Max 97 pair is clad in a light chocolate / tanger orange colorway. The shoe's base is constructed out of leather, plush, and suede materials. The air sole unit is, as usual, dressed in translucent blue color, matching the blue striping.
The tanger orange color can be seen accentuated over sock liners, sidewall swoosh panels, and heel tabs. More details are added with a "D-12 and Big Proof 4 ever!" lettering alongside the Shady Records logo over the toe boxes. The D-12 is a nod to Eminem-founded Detroit-based hip-hop group. Alongside Eminem were Proof, Bizarre, B-Flat, Eye Kyu, B-Flat, and D Ratt.
1) Nike Air Max 1 Master Friends and Family- $55k
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Air Max Day in 2017, Nike offered a unique Air Max 1 makeover called Master. The sale was limited to only friends and family. Clad in White / University Red / International blue, the sneakers' construction was inspired by Nike's archives and the 10 most iconic silhouettes from the past.
The upper of the shoes are decked in fresh white leather, while the mudguards are dressed in multi-paneled patterns. The uppers are constructed from perforated and smooth leather material, while the translucent gum rubber outsoles complete the design. The sneakers were also released in a black iteration to the public on March 25, 2017.
The white pair was a bit more challenging to attain as only 50 units of it were made and could only be obtained by the lucky ones or on the reseller market. The limited release of the pair led to a sky-high price, and now it is listed for $55,000 on StockX.
