In our latest attempt to re-imagine the Air Max 90 using famous colorways from other successful sneaker lines, we will be giving the sneakers a “Fire Red” makeover. Famous for its presence on the feet of Michael Jordan in 1989 to 1991 on the basketball court, we think the colorway could also be more than suitable for an old running sneaker. Check out the concept we created above and read more about its design below.
The sneaker comes in a white leather and mesh upper, with black TPU accents on the eyelets and the heel. The tongue, laces, and lining also come in black. In terms of branding, the Swoosh is covered in black and the Nike Air tag on the tongue is dressed in red and black. Further red highlights are used on the Air Max logo and on the TPU surrounding the Nike Air bubble. Otherwise, the sole is completely black, including the tint of the Air bubble.
Our concept takes inspiration from the Air Jordan “Fire Red” colorways, which brings back plenty of nostalgia for Jordan’s first MVP season. Hitting shelves for the first time in 1989, the Fire Red colorway was the only OG Air Jordan 4 model to use Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls colors, hence their immense popularity at the time. The colorway would appear once again the following year, and the fire red accents used on the Jordan 5’s infamous shark teeth would guarantee the shoes success. Since then, the OG Fire Red models have been re-released multiple times, including both of them in the last 2 years. But this has got us thinking that the colorway deserves to be used on plenty more Nike models. And what better model to use than perhaps the most successful sneaker from 1990, the Air Max 90.
White, black and red are extremely common in the sneaker world and have been used many times in conjunction with each other on the Air Max 90. But what separates our concept from earlier Air Max 90 designs is our use of black as more than just a highlight on the upper. Particularly, our choice to use a black sole, instead of the standard white sole that Air Max’s usually feature. But its mostly white upper is still traditional enough to be in keeping with the identity of a typical 90s runner.
