For our latest concept, we picked three of the most common colors on a pair of sneakers, albeit less usually used on the same shoe, red, white, and blue. Red and white are a common combination, as we know from the Air Jordan 1 Chicago, and blue and white are similarly common, for example the Kentucky Nike dunks. But to put all three colors together is usually reserved exclusively for sneakers that are in some manner inspired by America. Whilst not American ourselves, this colorway still holds value to us due to its unorthodox look, so we wanted to create our own concept, which would implement these colors on the Air Max 97. Check out how it went above and read more about how our concept came about below.
Firstly, our concept comes in a blue mesh upper, with white leather stripes and a red mudguard circling the entire shoe. The tongue is also blue with white leather detailing and red laces, and red also makes an appearance on the swoosh branding around the midfoot on the lateral side of the sneaker, against a blue background. This is paired with an all-red midsole, a white outsole, and a translucent full-length Air Max bubble, revealing the cushioning’s white interior.
It isn’t uncommon for American brands like Nike and New Balance to release shoes celebrating their American heritage, often catering to patriotic celebrations such as July 5th. But the USA is also the inspiration for many Nike shoes thanks to Nike sponsoring them in the Olympics, supplying the Olympian’s shoes, that are worn with red, white, and blue flashy Nike tracksuits. We decided to create our own sneaker using these colors, which would look great at the Olympics, but that also utilized the stripes on the upper to represent the stripes on America’s flag.
As well as looking great with a matching Team USA Nike tracksuit, white, blue, and red are all easy colors to pair with, so they would be a great addition to anyone’s sneaker closet. Our concept would work well as part of a summer outfit, or a 90’s inspired look, which is particularly fitting since the Air Max 97, as its name suggests, was first released in 1997. But personally, we would rock a basic black tracksuit with our concept, fully committing to the current athleisure trend, and letting the shoes do all the talking.
