Brand: Nike
Model: Air Max 180
Key Features: Inspired by Berlin’s techno nightlife, this Air Max 180 features the words “UNITY” and “FREEDOM” hidden underneath its transparent outsole, while neon elements on the heel, Max Air unit, and tongue serve as nods to the club culture that the city is so famous for. A contrasting grey base symbolizes the concrete and brutalist architecture of the city.
Release Date: Initially on March 26 at Berlin retailers, with a wider release today, March 30.
Price: €150
Buy: Nike (This release will be a European-exclusive) and Berlin retailers (see list below)
Editor’s Notes: Nike recently unveiled its Air Max 180 “Berlin,” a European-exclusive design that pays homage to the nightlife and club scene in Germany’s capital. According to Nike, the sneaker “unites the past and present, with heritage and futurism” featured in equal measure in the design of the Air Max 180. The 180 originally released in 1991, and was the first Air Max shoe to feature a bubble visible on the outsole.
Nike chose the Air Max 180 due to its debut in 1991, around the same time that Berlin — after the fall of the wall in 1989 — began leading a global revolution in club culture. The brand also tapped two Berlin natives, Honey Dijon and Keinemusik to lead its campaign ahead of the release.
Keinemusik explains the significance of techno and electronic music, “West Berlin felt like an enclave until the wall came down, like a place with its own rules. And after the wall came down, the means of freedom in both parts of the city translated into a creative anything goes mentality. A perfect breeding ground for subcultures, with Techno being one of the most important and steady ones.”
Honey Dijon adds “I grew up in a time and place in club culture where artists and fashion designers and musicians all came together to build a community of like-minded spirits. It's very important to continue that tradition.”
The sneaker dropped at Berlin retailers on March 26, with a Nike.com release exclusive to Europe today, March 30.
Where to buy
Voo Store (in-store at 12pm CET, first come, first served) Sneakersnstuff (in-store at 12pm CET) The Store (in-store only) Soto (online raffle) Overkill (via an in-store release event from 12pm to 8pm CET) Solebox (via a secret pop-up, the location of which will be revealed by answering six questions about Berlin, its club scene, and the Air Max. The quiz is available here and each answer reveals several digits of the final GPS location of the pop-up)
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