The Air Max 1 was the revolution of sneakers when it came out. Designed by the legendary designer Tinker Hatfield, this shoe is one of the few pairs still up to date after 35 years. And next week, Nike has decided to revive the OG colorway for Air Max Day. However, this pair is different from the one you knew in 1987.
The shape is almost the same, and the color is the same, but something has changed it – the size of the bubble on the outsole. On this new release, the window for the bubble is way more significant than the one from the OG model back in 1987. Why is that? Why did Nike decide to do that? Well, the answer is much more surprising than you think.
The Air Max 1 Had A Default Before Its Release
Yes, this new shoe is a prototype from 1986 that had a default. But to understand the whole story, we must return to the past. We’re in 1981, and Nike recruits Tinker Hatfield to become their new interior designer after graduating from the University of Oregon. However, he doesn’t like interior design a lot and prefers to work on products. Nike saw that and decided to make him work on new running shoes since the competition between brands was intense in the mid-80s.
At that time, Nike had that new technology, known today as Air Technology, and they wanted Tinker Hatfield to make a stylish and technical product with this unique particularity. Of course, they already had a lot of success while using it on the Air Force 1 and the Air Jordan, but for running, It’s different; there are much better shoes from other brands for now. So Tinker Hatfield started to think about a concept, and it came to his mind for the first time when he saw the “Centre Georges Pompidou” in Paris.
Tinker Hatfield loved the architecture of the building and wanted to take inspiration from it for his new shoe. So that is why he had the idea to make the air unit visible on the outsole with a little window, like the windows of the French monument. But also, like the building, the air unit window was huge, much bigger than the one we know today. That’s why the first prototype is now called the “Big Bubble.” However, they decided to reduce it before its release in 1987. Why? Because the bubble was too fragile.
The air unit was cracking and piercing itself while walking with this prototype. And if you’re a sneaker addict from the 80s, you might remember having the bubble pierced was the worst nightmare for Air Max owners. So finally, Nike decided to make from 4 to 3 air units visible so that the bubble doesn’t crack and the pair is ready to go. But unfortunately, this delayed the sneaker’s release, which was supposed to release in 1986. This prototype is finally coming out today, but did they solve the problem?
The Air Max 1 1986 Big Bubble Is Ready To Go
Of course, they did. So now, the Air Max 1 is coming out exactly like Tinker Hatfield wanted it first, with four air units visible, making the Bubble way bigger than the OG or the release from 2017. The pair is still red, white, and grey, but the shape and the swoosh are also slightly different since It’s supposed to represent a pair from the 80s with an old-style shape. Also, the box is different since it is falsely used to pretend the pair is a found prototype from the 80s and that it has survived until today.
This pair will be tough to get for fans of Air Max Ones. The pair drops during the famous Air Max Day, on March 26th on the SNKRS app, where it is tough to get their hands on a pair of sneakers because the stocks are always minimal.
However, if luck is on your side, there’s still a chance for you to get an alternative. At the same time, the same pair in its “Golf version” comes out. It’s almost the same pair but designed for Golf, and nobody really minds the difference, so there’s that solution. Also, there’s a WMNS version coming out simultaneously, which means if you don’t have big feet, you can buy this one, which is more accessible since everybody will fall for the classic release.
