Nike Air Max Plus Shoes

Originally created in collaboration with Foot Locker, Nike put forth 15 different designs to the retailer, only to get turned down each time.

Desperate to present something that Foot Locker approved of, Nike needed fresh ideas. They turned to designer Sean McDowell, who had only been at Nike for a week. Having just come from a trip to the Florida coast, McDowell showed up with a sketchbook full of palm trees and sunsets. When he heard Nike wanted to call the shoe Sky Air, he went straight to the drawing board.

Unforgettable Aesthetics

Several drafts in, McDowell had a shoe that was unlike anything the sneaker world had seen. Inspired by palm trees swaying in the wind, wavy lines made up the forefoot cage to stabilize the foot while the upper featured bright colors reminiscent of Floridian sunsets. Even the midfoot shank, which separates the forefoot from the heel, looked like a whale’s tail coming out of the water.  

Tuned to Your Run

Despite the emphasis on the iconic aesthetic and the shoe’s subsequent rise to streetwear fame, the Nike Air Max Plus was originally built to run. A runner himself, McDowell constructed the shoe to perform as well as it looked.

The sole of the Nike Air Max Plus shoe featured revolutionary Tuned Air technology – small hemispheres inserted into the Air cushioning that relieved pressure in the heel. McDowell also reimagined how the industry used reflective materials. Growing up, he was always taught to run towards traffic so that cars would see him, yet most reflective materials on running shoes were put on the back of the shoe. The Nike Air Max Plus broke this tradition and put reflective strips all the way up the forefoot.

The Future of Plus

Not only was the prototype finally accepted by Foot Locker, the iconic design of the Air Max Plus led to hundreds of new colorways throughout the years and countless iterations, like the Nike Air VaporMax Plus. The Nike Air Max Plus is available in men’s, women’s, boys’, and girls’, so the whole family can wear the revolutionary shoe. Step into the legacy and get your Nike Air Max Plus today.