You’ve Seen Nike Air Sneakers. How About a Nike Air Jacket?
Nike ACG’s new Therma-FIT Air Milano jacket can be a lightweight, weather-resistant outer layer. However, it can also be a thick insulated puffer jacket.
The sportswear giant has revisited one of its most innovative early-2000s outerwear experiments, the now-grailed Nike ACG Airvantage inflatable jacket, and transformed it into something even more cutting-edge.
The Therma-FIT Air Milano is Nike’s most technically engineered garment of its kind.
The jacket’s volume can be changed in a matter of seconds by either inflating it with a pump or deflating it. This aerated metamorphosis allows the jacket to be as warm as the wearer wants.
“Air Milano isn’t just another jacket, it’s a living innovation,” said Amie Achtymichuk, Nike’s lead apparel development innovator, in a statement. “Every detail was engineered to let athletes tune their own comfort and fit, creating a personalized experience that amplifies their performance and redefines adaptive outerwear.”
Other nifty Nike inventions found on the jacket include a two-layer composite laminate material that’s uncharacteristically soft for a weatherproof synthetic fabric, as well as sweat-wicking Dri-FIT technology.
It’s all undeniably clever stuff. However, it’s also recycling an idea from almost two decades ago.
Amongst many technically-minded menswear nerds, the Nike ACG Airvantage inflatable jacket from 2008 is a sought-after rare gem. Videos inflating the weatherproof jacket still regularly do the rounds online, and vintage sellers charge a handsome price for one of the originals.
The jacket has always been a one-off Nike oddity, a brilliantly bizarre design only released once and never seen again.
While other Nike jackets have occasionally toyed with inflatable tech, the Therma-FIT Air Milano is Nike’s most ambitious try at it yet. It’ll be officially debuted in Milan at the 2026 Winter Olympics by Team USA athletes.
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