1998 Nike Air Max Plus

by Riley Jones

Over the decade that followed the introduction of visible Air on the Air Max 1 in 1987, Nike incrementally improved the technology on a near-yearly basis. Time after time, the Air-filled chambers would get bigger and bigger, more refined, and more spectacular from both an aesthetic and performance standpoint—see the Air Max 180, Air Max 93, and Air Max 95 as examples. Then, in the late ’90s, following the introduction of its first full-length Air unit with the Air Max 97, things came to a bit of a standstill. The technology, for the time being, had reached its ceiling, maxing out—no pun intended—until the even more expansive Air Max 360 was introduced in 2006. But while the evolution of Air Max technology had slowed, a whole new contender would enter the fray.

In 1998, Nike introduced the Air Max Plus (known in some regions as the Air TN or Tuned 1, as a reference to its first-of-its-kind Tuned Air technology). Tuned Air itself was a pivot from the full-length Air Max 97 cushioning seen just a year prior. Instead of using a singular Air unit, Tuned Air combined what Nike describes as molded polymer “hemispheres” in the heel chambers for added stability. Notable for being the debut Nike running shoe to use Tuned Air, the Air Max Plus was designed by then-newcomer Sean McDowell, who created the sneaker as his first major project with the company.

In fact, McDowell’s work on the iconic design began before he was even employed by Nike. In a retrospective for the sneaker’s twentieth anniversary, McDowell recalled relaxing on Florida beaches, sketching the palm-tree-laden landscape that would later serve as the inspiration for the Air Max Plus’s cage-like gradient upper. In theory, the upper’s palm tree-like exoskeleton would cradle the foot, while the beach sunset would eventually lead to color inspiration for the sneaker.

McDowell joined the brand in 1997 and was soon tasked with delivering a special shoe for Foot Locker featuring Tuned Air cushioning. Foot Locker had already passed on more than 15 sketches submitted by other designers, putting the pressure on McDowell to come up with something radical enough to satisfy the retailer. With the sneaker’s tentative name of “Sky Air,” the designer was reminded of his pre-employment sketches on the Florida coast. He pulled out the drafts and got back to work, settling on three distinct color options in orange, blue, and purple. The former two would wind up becoming the Air Max Plus’s definitive colorways, while the third purple style remained a sketch until it was brought to life for a twentieth anniversary release in 2018.

While the Air Max Plus may be best known for its Tuned Air cushioning, the research and development that went into finalizing the rest of the shoe was nothing short of impressive. Despite having sketched detailed renditions of what the upper would look like, its production presented a handful of challenges. McDowell recalls co-workers warning him the upper’s gradient fades simply weren’t feasible. “You’ll never be able to do that; you can’t find a material like that,” someone told him, according to a post published on Nike.com in 2018. He was determined, though, and suggested Nike employ the sublimation printing it had previously used on apparel in hopes of achieving a look reminiscent of 1983’s Omega Flame runner. The experiment paid off, but there was more work to be done. The upper’s palm-tree-inspired caging would require a type of welding Nike hadn’t used before. With just two weeks to go before a formal pitch to Foot Locker, McDowell flew to Asia to oversee the process first-hand. He was told the weld was still unachievable and that it either wouldn’t bond properly or would risk melting the fabric. The designer suggested layering the TPU in three separate welds rather than one large piece—yet another experiment that paid off.

“The heel is separate from the midfoot, [which] is separate from the forefoot,” McDowell said in a 2018 interview with Champs Sports. “So we welded three times and that sort of gave us the strength to bond and weld everything together.”

With a finalized sample in hand, McDowell was joined by Mark Parker, who would go on to become Nike’s CEO in 2006, at meetings with Foot Locker executives. These meetings resulted in another risk, this time in the form of the sneaker’s marketing. The retailer decided to place the shoe on its shelves with no warning, timing it right around when teenagers would be getting out of school. “Five or ten minutes later, there were like ten kids flocking to the shoe asking, ‘What is this? How do I get it?’’ McDowell said. “The associates were looking around like, ‘I’ve never seen that thing before, I don’t know how much it costs; I don’t know where it came from,’ while the kids were running around like, ‘I want to buy this thing.’ They were almost frantic. I was beaming.”

With Foot Locker’s stamp of approval, the Air Max Plus would remain exclusive to the retail chain for years to come. The Air Max Plus is one of the rare examples of a shoe that hardly takes a hiatus from the marketplace—similar to other iconic models such as the Air Force 1 and Air Max 90. Its global success is also noteworthy, with legions of fans beyond the States, specifically in Australia, Paris, and London. Australia in particular has a striking fascination with the shoe, which has resulted in more regional exclusive styles than any other area. It’s also got somewhat of a nefarious connotation Down Under, where it’s often associated with some of the less favorable elements of street culture.

“It goes back to the sort of characters that wore TNs before it became a trend,” said Raymond Ray, a Sydney native and Air Max Plus enthusiast who was once a member of the Facebook group TN Talk. “Can’t pinpoint why lads, searchers, or whatever you want to call them chose TNs amongst other sneakers to represent what they’re about. Could have been because at the time it was one of the most expensive Nike sneakers on shelves, [and] boosted with the aggressive look of the veins and multiple bubbles, it made an ultimate accessory for people who used to participate in [criminal] activities.” These days, Ray theorizes that the shoe’s popularity Down Under is more about image than lifestyle. “Now that they are a trend, it’s mostly normal civilians wearing them. The TN scene recently has just been kids going to raves and wearing the shoes because they’re popular. There’s a new market for these kids wanting to look like they’re criminals,” he said.

More than twenty years after Nike introduced it, the Plus has become a staple of the brand’s Air Max line despite its once-rebellious connotations. Following the initial design in 1998, the Air Max Plus franchise would continue with multiple sequels throughout the 2000s, wrapping up with a tenth anniversary Air Max Tuned 10 model in 2008, but none of them have held quite the same staying power as the OG. McDowell’s unique design and willingness to push the envelope paid off handsomely, resulting in a shoe that’s withstood the test of time and still manages to have some futuristic flair to this day. And from the beaches of Florida to the underbelly of Australia, the Air Max Plus has quite literally gone global.

Honorable Mention
Nike Air Zoom Flight (“The Glove”)

by Zac Dubasik

In 1998, perhaps the most exciting Nike signature line outside of Michael Jordan’s belonged to Gary Payton, the All-Star point guard famous for his lockdown defense. While the following year’s Zoom GP would be the first sneaker to bear his initials officially, the Air Zoom Flight—better known as “The Glove,” a name by which Payton also happened to be known—is his most famous model.

Despite its relatively short run, Payton’s line saw no shortage of design risks, including interchangeable uppers on 2001’s Air Zoom GP 3 and ski boot–style buckles on 1999’s Zoom GP. It was Nike designer Eric Avar’s “The Glove,” however, that set the precedent for these later models. The shoe featured a full-shrouded upper fastened via zipper, which housed a TPU monkey paw–shaped support structure along its sides. Combined with Zoom Air cushioning, it was about as high tech as a sneaker got in 1998.

“We did not originally plan on shrouding the shoe,” Avar told Sole Collector in 2013. “We were working with the [Nike] Advanced Group, and we were working closely with [developer] Tom Foxen. He had done a lot of the original performance design of the monkey paw.”

The team believed the tech was becoming too visually complex and wanted more balance. “We had the science behind it covered, but, aesthetically, we just couldn’t get to a point where we felt comfortable with the monkey paw being a simple and modern and very wearable solution. So we collectively decided to wonder, ‘What if we just put this skin over the top of the shoe?’”

Once Payton’s signature line had run its course, he had a stint with Jordan Brand. Late in his career, though, he went back to “The Glove” and wore the model in the 2006 NBA Finals, playing for the Miami Heat, when he won his only championship. Despite the shoe’s return in new Heat–themed colorways that year, it never actually retroed until 2013.

“I wouldn’t say the design at the time was busy, but there was definitely a lot of technology and a lot going on with shoes,” Avar told Sole Collector. “The Glove was interesting and almost a complete departure toward utter simplicity at the time. I think that was one of the more unique things about that shoe and about that time. And, of course, it was perfect for Gary Payton’s nickname.”