One of the Most Coveted Nike Air Max 1s Ever Is Returning This Fall for the First Time
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Nike‘s turn back to some of the most sought-after releases in its history is set to continue with a rare Air Max 1 from 2006.
The Nike Air Max 1 ’86 “Powerwall BRS” is set to return this fall for the first time ever, albeit with one small change. While the forthcoming sneaker faithfully recreates the colorway from more than 25 years ago, it’s now getting the “Big Bubble” treatment rendering the Air Max unit in its larger, original proportions from 1987 when it introduced visible Air units to the world. Nike quickly shrunk the size of the Air bubble because the larger one tended to fail in cold weather, not to bring back the bigger unit until 2023 for the model’s 35th anniversary.
Nike’s “Powerwall” series consisted of 56 colorways on Air Max sneakers in varying degrees of limitation made in celebration of the Air Max 360, the first sneaker to feature an Air Max unit throughout the whole of its midsole without any foam.
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Short for “Blue Ribbon Sports,” the name of the company before Nike, the Air Max 1 “Powerwall BRS” was one of the most coveted of the series and went on to be one of the most valuable of all the Air Max 1s ever made. Its decoration pulls from the color palette of early Blue Ribbon Sports sneakers, and a similar colorway would later be seen on Sacai’s LD Waffle in “Green Gusto” in 2019 that mashed up two of Nike’s early icons. Pairs have sold for up to $3,000 on resale platforms such as StockX.
The Nike Air Max 1 ’86 “Powerwall BRS” will release this fall through the Snkrs app, although a more firm release date hasn’t yet been confirmed. Pricing is set at $170.
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About the Author:
Ian Servantes is a Senior News Editor for Footwear News specializing in sneaker coverage. He’s previously reported on streetwear and sneakers at Input and Highsnobiety after beginning his career on the pop culture beat. He subscribes to the idea that “ball is life” and doesn’t fuss over his kicks getting dirty.
