Among the barrage of Air Max 90s that Nike pushes out monthly, this concept puts most of them to shame with its bold matte finish and vibrant contrasts that are arguably placed perfectly. Presenting, the Nike Air Max 90 “Volt Orange”!
The Air Max 90 has transcended sportswear and over the years has become a cultural icon. Gone are the days where people would wear these kicks just for running as the Air Max lineup gradually became embedded within streetwear culture.
Designed by Tinker Hatfield in 1990, the Air Max 90 released in the iconic “Infrared” colorway, a sneaker that’s now firmly considered as one of the greatest sneakers to ever be released.
Those Infrared hits have been played around quite a bit by concept artists in various ways, however, few have been as on point as on this “Volt Orange” AM90.
Starting off with the upper, a matte black finish engulfs most of the materials, a design choice that’s implemented too little in recent times.
This color choice enables almost any contrasting hue to present itself in all of its glory and luckily, the artist chose to apply a sprightly orange hue reminiscent of the famed “Infrared” colorway.
The popularity of this black and orange color blocking seems to be gaining momentum, recently having been applied an array of concepts and most notably to the controversial Lil Nas X’s Air Max 97 “Satan Shoes”.
Most of this Air Max comes dressed in smooth leather underlays that appear on the side panels, mudguards, rears, and the scuff-guards. Meanwhile, the toe box mixes things up with a matt black mesh material, the likes of which also appear on the collars.
Black throats wrapped with traditional black laces sit between matte black eyelet panels. This otherwise monochromatic look is contrasted perfectly with bright orange “Nike” branding on the tongues and matching cropped leather Swooshes on the lateral sides.
Further contrast is provided by the sock liners, interiors, and the tiny embossed “Air Max” tag near the shoe’s rear quarters.
Black midsoles also blend right in with the rest of the upper only to be separated by orange blocking surrounding the Air Units. Finally, rugged black outsoles finish off the design.
If you’re digging this look, you may be interested in the Undefeated Nike Air Max 90 that dons very similar color tones in case Nike decided never to implement this gorgeous concept!
Stay tuned for a lot more concept art to come!
