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.