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The Nike Air Max 90 sneaker is in its grunge era (for now, at least).

Nike's comfiest Air Max sneaker enters 2026 with a new grunge-style look, realized in a pleasing "Light Violet Ore" colorway, which is basically this pale purple scheme mixed with grey and black shades.

Underneath the satisfying yet slightly dystopian scheme, the Air Max model also features some pretty sumptuous textures, like velvety suede. There's also some sturdy woven touches with frayed edges, joined by other distressed details.

Interestingly, just before we bid farewell to 2025, Nike dropped an Air Force 1 Low with torn-up uppers and similar punk-ish styling. Call the two models cousins, even.

Now, the sportswear giant is kicking off the year with perfectly destroyed Air Maxes.

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2025 brought us several nice Air Max 90s, including impressive "cookies and cream"-style pairs, cozy campfire-themed versions, and clean all-leather iterations.

It looks like we're in for more good-looking Air Max 90s in 2026, starting with these purple AM90s.

Speaking of which, the Air Max 90 "Light Violet Ore" sneakers are now available on Nike Luxembourg's website for €149.99, or roughly $176.

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