![\"Marion](\"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magefan\/foot-district-nike-tailwind-og-sneaker-of-the-week-tour-yellow-2.jpg\" "\\"Marion")
Marion \u2018Frank\u2019 Rudy<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/h2>\nNike AIR the \u2018Revolution\u2019 <\/span><\/h2>\nAs we looked at recently<\/a><\/strong>, with the return of the OG Air Tailwind, Nike<\/a><\/strong> Air was born from the mind of Marion \u2018Frank\u2019 Rudy<\/strong>, an aeronautical engineer with absolutely no connection to Nike at the time of its inception. Rudy had been experimenting with new ways to contain inert gases inside rubber membranes when he came up with an idea to pitch his latest innovations to the footwear market. He met with a number of sportswear brands and was greeted with almost unanimous rejection, before finally meeting with the heads of Nike. Once Phil Knight put the new cushioning technology to the test \u2013 by literally lacing up in a prototype \u2013 he knew it was an idea too good to pass up. Nike quickly introduced the tech into the runner that we now know as the original Air Tailwind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Nike](\"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magefan\/highxtar-foot-district-nike-air-history-5.jpg\" "\\"Nike")
Nike Air Tailwind<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
While it would be easy for consumers to brush Nike Air off as mere marketing hype, it wasn\u2019t without its merit in performance. Researchers at Knoxville\u2019s University of Tennessee tested the Tailwind on its arrival and determined that runners exerted less energy when wearing the new technology than they did in the conventional running shoes of the time.<\/p>\n
“AIR” in the 80s<\/h3>\n
After a successful introduction with the Tailwind in the late 70s, Nike\u2019s design team got to work, introducing the new technology into almost every stream of footwear throughout the 80s. For much of its fist decade on the scene, Nike Air referred exclusively to cushioning you could feel but not see. Air bubbles came in all shapes and sizes, but were always hidden within the midsole. It was only in 1987, with the release of the Air Max 1<\/strong><\/a>, that the concept of Visible Air was born. Tinker Hatfield<\/strong><\/a>, inspired by the exposed design of the Centre Georges Pompidou<\/strong>, chose to cut away a portion of the midsole to show the revolutionary cushioning in action. Such a bold idea raised concerns of durability from designers and consumers alike, but, as we know now, Tinker proved them all wrong. Curiously, the very first run of AM1s did actually sport a larger Air window, but it was shrunk down to ensure smooth sailing for the technology\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n![\"Centre](\"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magefan\/highxtar-foot-district-nike-air-history-3.jpg\" "\\"Centre")
Centre Pompidou – Par\u00eds<\/div>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The introduction of Visible Air was, in many ways, even more significant than that of Nike Air itself. It was a drastic design decision that injected a new level of freshness into the then-ageing innovation, which made it feel like an almost entirely new technology in and of itself. As with the introduction of Nike Air before it, Visible Air quickly began turning up in every type of footwear under the Nike umbrella. The Air Jordan 3<\/strong><\/a> was another early adopter of Visible Air cushioning and, aided by Michael Jordan\u2019s rising star profile, only served to further thrust the new type of cushioning into the spotlight.<\/p>\n![\"Air](\"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magefan\/highxtar-foot-district-nike-air-history-4.jpg\" "\\"Air")
![\"Air](\"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magefan\/highxtar-foot-district-nike-air-history-1.jpg\" "\\"Air")
<\/p>\n
<\/h3>\n“AIR” in the 90s<\/h3>\n
In the years following the release of the Air Max 1, with the idea of contained cushioning shattered, Nike\u2019s talented designers quickly began to raise the stakes and the airbags only got bigger. The Air 180, Air Max BW and Air Max 93 all built on \u2013 and improved upon \u2013 the idea of heel-based Visible Air. Arriving in 1994, Air Max2 was a subtle twist in this concept that featured two different pressure systems in the one Air unit.<\/p>\n
The Air Max 95 took Nike Air to the next level with the addition of forefoot visible Air in 1995, but it wasn\u2019t the only significant Air innovation of the time. Nike also debuted Zoom Air that same year, which added tensile fibres within the standard Nike Air unit design for significantly improved responsiveness. While Zoom Air lacked the aesthetic knockout of Visible Air, due to it being concealed within the midsole once again, it was included in some of the wildest designs of the late 90s, including the Spiridon and Talaria.<\/p>\n
In 1997, Nike\u2019s design team would achieve the seemingly impossible with the introduction of full-foot Visible Air in the Air Max 97, setting a new standard for the Air Max line in the process. 1999 would see the release of the Air Max Plus and, with it, the introduction of Tuned Air. Building on the concept of the Air Stab before it, Tuned Air sought to combine Air cushioning with stability, in this case provided by its signature hemisphere-based thermal plastic pods. The technology was further signified by the now-iconic bright yellow \u2018TN\u2019 branding \u2013 designed by Derek Welch \u2013 on the heels. Similar branding would appear for other Air innovations of the period.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/magefan\/highxtar-foot-district-nike-air-history-2.jpg\" "\\"The")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“AIR” in the 00’s<\/h3>\n
The mid 2000s would bring us Air Max 360, an expansion on the concept of full-foot Visible Air introduced by the Air Max 97<\/strong><\/a>. While it lacked the initial visual shock of the AM97, the AM360 seriously raised the bar in terms of performance and engineering, earning it the nickname Engineered Max internally during development. The Air Max 360 sole unit featured thermoform Air bags encased by injection thermoplastic for structure and stability.<\/p>\nNike Air would see a number of minor improvements and innovations over the next decade, as identified by the annual Air Max releases, but it wouldn\u2019t be until the release of the Air VaporMax in the lead up to Air Max Day 2017 that Nike Air would truly stun once again. The VaporMax and its successors built on the concept of full-foot Visible Air to the highest degree, by removing the need for a secondary rubber layer and introducing a new level of flexibility.<\/p>\n
The Nike “AIR”\u00a0Today<\/h3>\n
In recent years, as performance focus has shifted to lightweight foams, Nike have capitalised on the aesthetic intrigue of Air with big-bubble lifestyle models like the Air Max 270<\/strong><\/a> and, most recently, the Air Max 720<\/strong><\/a>. Both models shattered records upon their introduction for the sheer size of their colossal bubbles.<\/p>\nNike Air has had a tremendous effect on the sneaker scene these past 40 years and Nike owes much of its success as a brand to the technology\u2019s introduction. So, on behalf of sneakerheads the world over, thank you, Marion \u2018Frank\u2019 Rudy, for giving it to us. Now, let\u2019s hope this bubble never bursts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The word Nike \u2018Air\u2019 precedes many of the greatest sneakers in history. From the Air Max 90 and Air Trainer 2 to the Air Jordan 3 and Air Force 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,63],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[4,7,5,6,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-6453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-noticias"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=6453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
As we looked at recently<\/a><\/strong>, with the return of the OG Air Tailwind, Nike<\/a><\/strong> Air was born from the mind of Marion \u2018Frank\u2019 Rudy<\/strong>, an aeronautical engineer with absolutely no connection to Nike at the time of its inception. Rudy had been experimenting with new ways to contain inert gases inside rubber membranes when he came up with an idea to pitch his latest innovations to the footwear market. He met with a number of sportswear brands and was greeted with almost unanimous rejection, before finally meeting with the heads of Nike. Once Phil Knight put the new cushioning technology to the test \u2013 by literally lacing up in a prototype \u2013 he knew it was an idea too good to pass up. Nike quickly introduced the tech into the runner that we now know as the original Air Tailwind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While it would be easy for consumers to brush Nike Air off as mere marketing hype, it wasn\u2019t without its merit in performance. Researchers at Knoxville\u2019s University of Tennessee tested the Tailwind on its arrival and determined that runners exerted less energy when wearing the new technology than they did in the conventional running shoes of the time.<\/p>\n After a successful introduction with the Tailwind in the late 70s, Nike\u2019s design team got to work, introducing the new technology into almost every stream of footwear throughout the 80s. For much of its fist decade on the scene, Nike Air referred exclusively to cushioning you could feel but not see. Air bubbles came in all shapes and sizes, but were always hidden within the midsole. It was only in 1987, with the release of the Air Max 1<\/strong><\/a>, that the concept of Visible Air was born. Tinker Hatfield<\/strong><\/a>, inspired by the exposed design of the Centre Georges Pompidou<\/strong>, chose to cut away a portion of the midsole to show the revolutionary cushioning in action. Such a bold idea raised concerns of durability from designers and consumers alike, but, as we know now, Tinker proved them all wrong. Curiously, the very first run of AM1s did actually sport a larger Air window, but it was shrunk down to ensure smooth sailing for the technology\u2019s debut.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The introduction of Visible Air was, in many ways, even more significant than that of Nike Air itself. It was a drastic design decision that injected a new level of freshness into the then-ageing innovation, which made it feel like an almost entirely new technology in and of itself. As with the introduction of Nike Air before it, Visible Air quickly began turning up in every type of footwear under the Nike umbrella. The Air Jordan 3<\/strong><\/a> was another early adopter of Visible Air cushioning and, aided by Michael Jordan\u2019s rising star profile, only served to further thrust the new type of cushioning into the spotlight.<\/p>\n In the years following the release of the Air Max 1, with the idea of contained cushioning shattered, Nike\u2019s talented designers quickly began to raise the stakes and the airbags only got bigger. The Air 180, Air Max BW and Air Max 93 all built on \u2013 and improved upon \u2013 the idea of heel-based Visible Air. Arriving in 1994, Air Max2 was a subtle twist in this concept that featured two different pressure systems in the one Air unit.<\/p>\n The Air Max 95 took Nike Air to the next level with the addition of forefoot visible Air in 1995, but it wasn\u2019t the only significant Air innovation of the time. Nike also debuted Zoom Air that same year, which added tensile fibres within the standard Nike Air unit design for significantly improved responsiveness. While Zoom Air lacked the aesthetic knockout of Visible Air, due to it being concealed within the midsole once again, it was included in some of the wildest designs of the late 90s, including the Spiridon and Talaria.<\/p>\n In 1997, Nike\u2019s design team would achieve the seemingly impossible with the introduction of full-foot Visible Air in the Air Max 97, setting a new standard for the Air Max line in the process. 1999 would see the release of the Air Max Plus and, with it, the introduction of Tuned Air. Building on the concept of the Air Stab before it, Tuned Air sought to combine Air cushioning with stability, in this case provided by its signature hemisphere-based thermal plastic pods. The technology was further signified by the now-iconic bright yellow \u2018TN\u2019 branding \u2013 designed by Derek Welch \u2013 on the heels. Similar branding would appear for other Air innovations of the period.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The mid 2000s would bring us Air Max 360, an expansion on the concept of full-foot Visible Air introduced by the Air Max 97<\/strong><\/a>. While it lacked the initial visual shock of the AM97, the AM360 seriously raised the bar in terms of performance and engineering, earning it the nickname Engineered Max internally during development. The Air Max 360 sole unit featured thermoform Air bags encased by injection thermoplastic for structure and stability.<\/p>\n Nike Air would see a number of minor improvements and innovations over the next decade, as identified by the annual Air Max releases, but it wouldn\u2019t be until the release of the Air VaporMax in the lead up to Air Max Day 2017 that Nike Air would truly stun once again. The VaporMax and its successors built on the concept of full-foot Visible Air to the highest degree, by removing the need for a secondary rubber layer and introducing a new level of flexibility.<\/p>\n In recent years, as performance focus has shifted to lightweight foams, Nike have capitalised on the aesthetic intrigue of Air with big-bubble lifestyle models like the Air Max 270<\/strong><\/a> and, most recently, the Air Max 720<\/strong><\/a>. Both models shattered records upon their introduction for the sheer size of their colossal bubbles.<\/p>\n Nike Air has had a tremendous effect on the sneaker scene these past 40 years and Nike owes much of its success as a brand to the technology\u2019s introduction. So, on behalf of sneakerheads the world over, thank you, Marion \u2018Frank\u2019 Rudy, for giving it to us. Now, let\u2019s hope this bubble never bursts!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The word Nike \u2018Air\u2019 precedes many of the greatest sneakers in history. From the Air Max 90 and Air Trainer 2 to the Air Jordan 3 and Air Force 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,63],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[4,7,5,6,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-6453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-noticias"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6453"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.footdistrict.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=6453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Nike Air Tailwind<\/div>\n<\/p>\n“AIR” in the 80s<\/h3>\n
Centre Pompidou – Par\u00eds<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
“AIR” in the 90s<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n“AIR” in the 00’s<\/h3>\n
The Nike “AIR”\u00a0Today<\/h3>\n