2 colorways of the Nike Air Max 1 '87 on SoleBook.
Nike Air Max 1 '87 refers to the original Air Max 1, designed by Tinker Hatfield and released in 1987, distinguished by its unprecedented visible Air unit in the heel. That cutaway window, reportedly inspired by the exposed pipes of the Pompidou Centre, turned a cushioning technology into a design statement, something Nike had kept hidden in midsoles since the late '70s. The debut colorway, a white leather and mesh build with red accents and grey detailing, set a template that's been revisited endlessly since. The '87 tag became necessary once Nike started reissuing the model in later decades, distinguishing the true-to-original release from tweaked retros and the sequential Air Max line (90, 95, and onward) that followed. Over the years, the '87 has anchored countless Air Max Day drops, collaborations with names like Patta, Atmos, and Parra, and remains a reference point for collectors chasing OG proportions and materials. Its influence on running silhouettes and, eventually, lifestyle sneakers is hard to overstate. Few models carry as much weight in explaining how performance footwear crossed into fashion as directly as this one did.