Flashy Hybrid: Nike Air VaporMax 97 ‘Silver Bullet’
The Nike Air VaporMax 97 says a lot about how important Air Max Day is to Nike. This new model is all about bringing some modernity to gems of the past. It couldn’t have been an easy choice for the Swoosh: keep the 97 upper or its midsole.
Yet, as we can clearly see, they made a great decision. The wavy upper fluently combines with the VaporMax cushioning midsole.
Through the month of March, aka Air Max Month, the Nike Air VaporMax 97 was previewed and released in a few looks. Here, we see it celebrating the 97’s most famous iteration, the legendary “La Silver.”
This is a pretty straightforward scheme here, featuring the signature wavy upper we know and love. The same hues adorn the Vapor midsole, but it manages to still hold its own. The nature of the robust Vapor set up makes it so that the 97’s upper looks like it was literally lifted off its traditional sole.
The Metallic Silver colorway also comes with the mini accents of Red via branding hits. We even get the glow-in-the-dark details on the shoe’s upper.
It really is quite surprising how fluid this design is and how feasible it actually seems. This combination feels like it wouldn’t pass initial ideation tests.
That’s just a fancy way of saying that if you told me about this proposed combination of the VaporMax and 97, and I didn’t have a visual, I’d probably call you crazy.
Yet, it’s starting to look like a banger in just about any colorway. This is a pretty good example of Nike’s considerate approach to designing the Air Max line over the years.