When the Air Max 1 debuted in 1987, Nike Air was already almost a decade old, having premiered on the Tailwind in late 1978. But that full-length unit was kept hidden in a sole unit. Nike technicians and designers had made early experiments on making the air unit visible the first time around, but it would remain concealed for the time being.

A new air unit had been created that was bigger and more pressurised than ever before. When you’ve created something three times larger than its predecessor, you’re going to want to show it off, right? That’s when the window to the sole was opened.

Runners, rappers and cool kids globally flocked to the Air Max 1 in men and women’s colourways. The original shoe was released between 1987 and 1988 before the Air Max Light appeared in 1989.

Of course, a design this iconic couldn’t stay away forever. The Air Max 1 returned to Foot Locker shelves in its original shape in the mid 1990s as a quietly reissued retro release before the original troublemaker made some serious noise to start the millennium with a new audience of connoisseurs. What shattered convention on its March 26, 1987 release, is now considered classical.

This is the 1
that changed everything.