5 of the Most Expensive Nike Air Max Sneakers Ever
Sneaker fads come and go, but the legendary Air Max line is never too far away from the headlines, and our wishlists. Riding off decades of history, and an ever-growing compendium of collaborations, Nike’s bubbled beauties continue to shape the sneakersphere as we know it.
Take a peep at just about any serious collection and there’s bound to be an Air Max (or dozen) in there. Walking on Air has become common place, so it’s easy to overlook the bevy of bubbled Grails that have released throughout the years.
So, we thought we’d take a look at some of most-expensive Air Maxes ever. No secrets which '1' the Airheads love the most!
Air Max 1 Master ‘Family and Friends’
Perhaps the quintessential Air Max 1 Grail, the ‘Master’ pays homage to the fan-favourite sneaker by combining 10 of the most iconic AM1 colourways into an uber-rare Friends and Family drop. It’s rumoured that only 50 pairs of the coveted white-based colourway were given away on Air Max Day 2017.
A rarity even in the resale market (for good reason), pairs have been known to command prices in excess of $9000.
Air Max 90 Current x KAWS ‘Black Volt’
American artist KAWS is no stranger to applying his collaborative brushstrokes to Nike and Jordan Brand classics throughout the years, but his brooding Air Max 90 Current from 2008 has to be one of the most underrated. A joint project with Nike’s footwear design director Jesse Leyva, the progressive reworking of the AM90 features a four-way stretch textile upper inspired by the Swoosh’s ACG line. Pairs released exclusively at Nike flagships at 21 Mercer in NYC and The Montalbán in LA, making it one of the artist’s most-coveted creations ever. Want to get your paws on these KAWS? Expect to pay up to $3000.
Air Max 1 x Kid Robot ‘Hyperstrike’ Sample
Designed by Paul Budnitz and Chad Phillips, from boutique toy label Kid Robot, this Air Max 1 is one of the most-recognisable big-bubbled Grails going around. Released in 2005, only 240 units were created for the collaborative release, but only 72 pairs of the fiery hot-pink ‘Hyperstrike’ colourway managed to make it into the hands of Friends and Family. Already one of the most sought-after AM1s ever, things were taken into the realms of hyper-rare when a sample pair was sold on eBay for $9000 in 2015.
Air Max 1 ‘Powerwall’ in Pink
The second pink Air Max 1 on our list also happens to be from 2005. Part of the Powerwall series, which celebrated of three decades of Air Max, and dropped alongside an array of different models across seven different themes. Hailing from the ‘Extraordinary Reds’ category, this pink colourway hasn’t garnered the same adoration as the ‘BRS’ AM1 Powerwall from the same era. However, with its $9000 price tag, there’s no arguments as to which is the most exclusive.
Air Max 90 ‘Eminem Charity Series’
The Rap God has been responsible for some of most-ridiculously expensive sneakers ever, and the exclusive Air Maxes from his 2006 charity auctions still have sneaker fiends going berserk. Designed and autographed by Eminem, all sneakers from the four-week event were auctioned off via eBay, with all proceeds going to the Marshall Mathers Foundation and ninemillion.org.
Limited to just eight pairs, this Air Max 90 was one of the most sought-after of the bunch. Rarely seen in the wild, resale pairs have been spotted selling in the tens of thousands. Even Stan would struggle to justify forking out that much!
