Nike's New Air Max Is a Nutty Sneaker-Loafer Hybrid
Nike finally slides into the sneaker-loafer conversation with a leather shoe designed by, of all folks, the Serena Williams Design Collective. Not only that, but Nike's sneaker loafer is a brand-new Air Max sneaker shape, further evolving Nike's classic sportswear sneaker line into the current day.
The Nike sneaker loafer, called the Air Max Phenomena SWDC, is a slick leather slip-on first debuted by Japanese shoe insider and atmos founder Hirofumi Kojima.
Seen in its corresponding shoe box, you can see the Air Max Phenomena's soft leather upper accented with a small jewel Swoosh and Nike's classic Visible Air system built right into a muted midsole.
The only fact to note is that, as part of the Serena Williams Design Collection line, Nike's Air Max Phenomena sneaker will likely be limited run (and, of course, exclusively women's sizing).
That being said, Nike's Air Max Phenomena is more than just the latest in a long line of sneaker loafers.
It's also one of many (many!) new and revived Air Max shoe silhouettes, marking just one of many wild new cushioned Nike runners to hit the sneaker market in recent months. (Recent new Nike favorites include the Air Max Sunder, the Air Max Fire, and the wild slip-on Air Max Craze.) And Nike has experimented with loafer-ish shoes as disparate as its Cole Haan golf slip-ons and the ahead-of-its-time Vagabond loafer.
But back to sneaker loafers for a second. This flavor of luxe slip-on leather-ish shoes have similarly popped up across the footwear biz over the past year.
You can especially thank New Balance for kicking things off with its viral dad-shoe loafer, which remains perpetually sold out to this day. And then there's a handful of hangers-on like HOKA , Converse, and even skate shoe brand Vans all keeping the sneaker loafer dream alive with wild new silhouettes and shapes.
Given that we're finally seeing a sneaker company as big as Nike beginning to ride the sneaker-loafer wave, expect quite a splash to follow the forthcoming release of the Air Max Phenomena shoe.
As for that launch, the Air Max Phenomena shoe has started springing up at retailers like atmos, available from June 27. A release on Nike's website is expected to follow in short succession.
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