A lot of amazing gifts were given to the world in 1995. The OG Playstation. Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. These things had their time in the world and their influence eventually waned as they were replaced by newer creations. You come to learn that the saddest part about life is that things are only great for so long. Jordan couldn’t win championships forever. Jeter had to retire eventually. Myspace is a desolate landscape now. You probably don’t even get on Facebook that much anymore.
But sometimes, on only the rarest of occasions, you make something that is at once timeless, and a signifier of the era that it came from. This Saturday, Nike is showing us that their talent at catching lightning in a bottle – or an air bag – is second to none, with the retro release of the “Neon” Air Max 95. It celebrates the 20th anniversary of one of the most storied models, not only in Air Max or Nike history but sneaker history in general.
The Air Max 95 is still undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching designs in sneaker history. The neon eyelets, the gradient upper, the black sole and midsole (which was controversial since running shoes at that time commonly had white soles and midsoles). Last but certainly not least, the bright neon green Air Max bubbles that seemed to jut out from beneath the shoe like Kryptonite letting the world know that you were most definitely ready to Just Do It. The “Neon” colorway is so historic that when another Nike sneaker – Air Max, Free, Sportswear, Skateboarding, All Conditions Gear – incorporates it, the sneaker is almost immediately referred to as being Nike Air Max 95 inspired, even if it’s not.
The other colorways are no slouches either. For those who like to be a little more inconspicuous, the Chili Red’s and Photo Blue’s might be down your alley. If you want something with a little more pop but less dark colors, don’t worry, Nike has you covered with the Grape’s, Slates Blue’s, and the Meteor Red’s. These don’t even touch the sheer amount of CWs Nike has. If the numerous colorways that Nike has produced for the original model don’t give you the notion of how influential the model is, maybe the fact that Nike has upgraded the design at least five times in the last five years will. In fact, the two newest editions just came out this year, the WMNS Nike Air Max 95 Ultra and the Air Max 95 Ultra Jacquard. Guess what the colorways for these models were inspired by? Yep, the OG Neon CW.
Within the next month, the “Greedy” 95’s should be released to the public, also known as the “What The…” 95’s, seemingly inspired by Nike’s style of taking the most popular colorways of a model and fusing them all on to one model. The CWs represented on the “What The..” model will be the Neons, Grapes, Safety Oranges, and Hot Reds, all CWs that stand up well on their own. They also fuse together quite nicely. With it being the 20th anniversary, who knows what else Nike might bring out of the vault for us?
Robbie Falchi
Sneaker History
Aaron Nojima