We take a closer look at the details on the first ever Nike Air Max 97 Mid. A sneaker that has hitherto been a low silhouette, gets some ankle height courtesy Riccardo Tisci. This was my late Air Max Day pick up. I mean, I ordered it before Air Max Day but the delivery took a week.

For those that aren’t familiar with who Riccardo Tisci is, he is an Italian Fashion Designer who was the Creative Director at Givenchy until Feb 2017. He is rumoured to be headed to Versace, although there is no concrete evidence of it. Yet. Riccardo Tisci continues his range of sneaker collabs with Nike and the Air Max 97 adds to the list.

To begin with, as always, a quick unboxing and on-feet review of the sneaker from my YouTube Channel:

The Nike Air Max 97 is a running shoe that is supposedly inspired by Japan’s high-speed bullet trains. The silver silhouette of the AM97 is intact, called the Silver Bullet. Although the designer himself admits to being inspired by mountain bikes. So weird.

This iteration was scheduled for Air Max Day 2017 as part of NikeLab’s “VisionAirs” collection. There was so much hype around the Master 1s and the Atmos 1s, that this release almost went unnoticed.  Riccardo Tisci had even said once that the Air Max 97 is considered the official Air Max of Italy. Because the Air Max was perhaps the first sneaker to blend sneakers and fashion. It arrived on the scene when the “scene” was undergoing a drastic change. Italians had reached the height of their high fashion consumerism style (Paninaro) at the time with their Armani Jeans and Timberland boots with their puffy jackets. Streetwear was emerging and the Air Max 97 Silver was the transitionary piece. Although sportswear, it was considered a luxury sneaker. Something people would wear with a suit. Or with a pair of Levi’s 501 denims and a hoodie. Rappers, artists, musicians, designers – everyone took to these sneakers, making them kind of a mainstream trend while also giving the wearer a “Fuck cares” attitude.

My pair though, blends sportswear and luxury. So it doesn’t have to make an effort to blend into fashion. I consider this a true luxury/high fashion sneaker. The upper consists of alternating waves of pebbled and suede leather, with contrasting white stitches. The air unit runs through the entire sneaker. The Air Max 97 is incidentally the first time the entire air unit was visible. The ankle collar is quite stiff and on account of the sneaker being narrow, you need to unlace them all the way to slip your foot in. Also the fact that the tongue is made of suede leather, adds to this. An interesting detail in the sneaker is a concealed pocket in the tongue. I don’t know what purpose it could possibly serve other than to stash your pot. I know which sneaker I am going to be wearing during music festivals. Haha.

The sneaker has a boot like appeal to it more than a runner. Which is why I love it. With the all black leather upper and gold hits, it looks quite mean and every bit the street wear icon that it is. A lot of people hate these sneakers and said I should rather have gone in for the Air Max Day Ultra OG colorway. But then I tell them, “it is not about what everyone loves. It is about the sneaker you love“.

What are your thoughts on these kicks? Let me know through the comments.

Buy Nike Air Max sneakers here.

Get the look:

Tee – The Hundreds (Black Graphic Tees)
Denims – Levi’s 501 Skinny
Fitted Hat – New Era Mohd Ali
Watch – Omega Seamaster

Shot by Vishal Dey for Bowties and Bones

Check out my other sneaker videos by clicking here.