The All-Time Greatest Nike Air Max 1s: Part Two

Released: 2005

If you were blown away by the scarcity of Parra's recent Swoosh-less 'Friends and Family' Air Max 1, then it's time for a quick history lesson. Back in 2005, Nike tasked Dutch artist Pieter Jansen — aka Parra Patta — with designing an AM1 that represented his hometown of Amsterdam. Parra came back with two different designs adorned with crown tongue tags and signed off at the toe with his John Hancock.

One of these, in Parra's signature combination of fuchsia, electric blue and chocolate brown, was the so-called 'Amsterdam' AM1, while the other — which combined white, orange and blue — was slated to release in tribute to Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn. As the story goes, Albert Heijn changed their branding shortly before the sneakers made their way to shelves, so Nike ended up scrapping the second design, with the exception of 24 pairs gifted exclusively to Parra's family and friends, making these one of the rarest — and most expensive — Air Max 1s of all-time.,

Rarity is all well and good, but it doesn't guarantee a great-looking sneaker. Sadly, for the 99.99 per cent of the population that will never even have a chance to see these shoes firsthand — let alone own a pair — these show-stopping AM1s are as beautiful as they are scarce. How about a retro, Parra? What do you say?

Released: 2009

Dutch retailers Patta celebrated their fifth anniversary with a string of Air Max 1 collaborations — each and every one a banger!

The 'Chlorophyll' AM1 was the most seemingly simple and widely available of the lot, a fact that saw many pairs linger on store shelves and even hit outlets at seriously discounted prices — especially given this was a time when collaborations were continually trying to one-up each other by pushing the limits of materials and construction. Still, Air Max diehards were undeterred and treated the occasion as Christmas come early.

Patta's leafy green AM1 was a simple tweak on a classic concept, switching out the 'Sport Red' and 'Royal Blue' components of the OG AM1s for the remaining primary colour. For the added premium touch, the 'Chlorophyll' components were made from stiff denim, adding a unique aspect of durability that altered uniquely with wear. Just don't hold out hope of ever landing these at outlet prices on the current market.

Released: 2006

A controversial inclusion? Perhaps, but CLOT's 2006 'Kiss of Death' makes the cut less for its beauty on foot and more for pushing the boundaries that paved the way for the wild sneaker collaborations that followed. In homage to their homeland's traditions, Chinese retailers CLOT devised the 'Kiss of Death' AM1 — in collaboration with recording artist MC Yan — around the ancient art of pressure points.

The resulting Air Max 1 pushed Nike's design team to the limits, resulting in a colab made of multiple premium exotic leathers and decorated with imaginative insole and outsole graphics. In an unusual twist, the standard heel padding was completely absent, but the most visually jarring inclusion came at the toebox. Following in the footsteps of the ESPO x Nike Air Force 2, CLOT included an underlay of clear plastic at the toe. Clear-toed sneakers were one of the biggest crimes of the mid 2000s, but for some reason they worked here — perhaps due to their link to the AM1's Visible Air.

We wouldn't recommend actually wearing these — unless you want to be left with a steamy, crumbly mess — but they deserve their place in the Air Max hall of fame.

Released: 2007 / 2017 (retro)

Say what you like about atmos' 2007 Air Max 1 colab. Call it played out. Call it a cheap Air Jordan 3 cash grab. Call it an Air Max 1 colab for the masses. Now take those opinions and shove 'em right back where they came from!

The 'Elephant' AM1 is, simply put, a perfect collaboration. It was one of the earlier non-Jordan Nikes to rock the AJ3's signature so-called Elephant print, but none have done it better. The Japanese retailers perfectly combined the crackled 'Cement' textile with premium white leather and black suede for an immaculate dose of contrast that flawlessly restrained the often-over-abused animal-inspired material. The use of patent leather on a sneaker is almost never a good idea, but the shiny 'Clear Jade' Swooshes were a masterstroke.

If you don't think the 'Elephant' Air Max 1 lives up to the hype then you, my friend, are in the minority. In 2016, the public voted in droves, and the 'Elephant' AM1 reigned supreme as the best Air Max release of all time!