Nike Reveals the Creation of the Air Max 95

The Air Max 95 is one of Nike’s most celebrated silhouettes. The sneaker has been introduced to the market in new colorways since its inception 20 years ago. Today, the Oregon-based brand broke down the design process of the shoe via its website.

Sergio Lozano, a designer who had never worked on a running style prior to the Air Max 95, designed the shoe, and according to Nike, not everyone at the company accepted it initially.

“The first concept review for the Air Max 95 wasn’t a success across the board, some people thought it was good and others didn’t like it at all,” Lozano said via the brand’s website. “There were some great champions who stood behind the idea and without them the shoe wouldn’t have been made.”

The inspiration behind the shoe’s design, according to Lozano, was the scenery of Beaverton, Ore., specifically a rainy day where he was looking into the trees when he pictured a sneaker being exposed by the rain eroding the earth.

One of the reasons the shoe’s design took time to be accepted, and was criticized, was due to the lack of a large, visible swoosh logo and the pairing of visible air in the front and rear of the shoe.

After the design of the shoe was set, the colorway came next, and according to Lozano, Oregon played a major role in that as well. But that decision was also initially contested.

“In Oregon, people run when it rains, they run on trails, and after the first five miles their shoes look beat and I wanted to disguise that a bit,” he said via the brand’s website. “I was told that gray didn’t sell and took that as a challenge.”

To read the full story behind the Nike Air Max 95, click here.