SPECIAL DELIVERY: Nike leans into fashion over function with the Air Max 2021

Fashion over function for the latest in the Air Max lineage.

The Air Max line has gone some pretty huge shifts over the last few years.

The origin of the line is rooted in functionality. The Air Max 1 was born as a running shoe with a lifestyle touch to it as a result of the colorful touch Tinker Hatfield put on it.

The Air Max models that succeeded it followed that same blueprint. The Air Max 90, 95, 96, 97 and most other OG models from the line have some sort of function to them.

But that’s changed in recent years. The line has shifted to a fashion over function mentality, and that has never been more evident than it is with the brand new Air Max 2021.

This thing is built for one purpose: Looking cool. Sykes and the Special Delivery crew dive into that theme in the latest episode and ask the crucial question of whether the line has strayed too far from its roots.

Tap in.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Is this Nike’s best collab of 2021? Unboxing the Air Max 90 ‘Bacon’

Everybody loves bacon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf1ugultSr8

Every sneaker has a story. And many of them are pretty good. But I promise you, there are not many quite as good as the story about Nike’s Air Max 90 ‘Bacon.’

This shoe was born on the back of one of the most elaborate and fantastic sneaker trolls we’ve ever seen. The creator, Dave Ortiz, made the shoe by not taking things too seriously. He just used his passion and creativity to make an Air Max classic.

Sykes and the Special Delivery crew unbox the 2021 version of this 2004 classic in the latest episode of Special Delivery. You don’t want to miss it.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Exploring Nike’s big switch on the Air Max with the brand new Pre-Day

This is the next evolution for the Air Max.

Nike’s Air Max line has been its lifeblood for more than three decades now. Since the Air Max 1 dropped in 1987, it’s been one of the most popular silhouettes the brand has to offer and has also continued to evolve.

The latest evolution in the line, though, is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from it before. Nike’s brand new Air Max Pre-Day breaks the mold.

Typically with any Air Max joint, you’ll get a big shoe with a lot of tech in it. But the Pre-Day is simple. It’s reductive. It’s a completely different direction and it does this on purpose.

We explore why Nike made the big switch with this shoe and why it’s a good thing they did on this latest episode of Special Delivery. Don’t miss it.