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The Nike Air Max 95 is an elite Air Max model, one of the all-time greats. The sneaker debuted in 1995—back then just under the name “Air Max,” as Nike wasn’t yet designating the models by year—and has more or less been around ever since. The last of the original batch of Air Max 95 colorways arrived in the spring of 1996; come 1997, Nike had brought the shoe back. It’s a mainstay of Nike’s retro line, a sneaker that’s kind of always there and always welcomed. But its success wasn’t guaranteed.
The Nike Air Max 95 was created by Sergio Lozano, a young designer who took the line over from Tinker Hatfield, the famous Nike designer who made Air Max a thing back in 1987. Hatfield was on a legendary product creation run in the ’90s, churning out classic after classic for the Swoosh. There was some risk in him handing over the Air Max franchise—this was the guy who made the bubbles visible in the first place, after all.
Lozano accepted the challenge, and in doing so made a shoe that never could have come from Hatfield. His interpretation of the Air Max saw the shoe as a system of human anatomy where the lacing was a rib cage and the outsole was a spine holding things in place. His Air Max had forefoot cushioning bags, a first for the line. It was a smash, a beloved shoe that took hold in specific geographies—Japan, the UK—before becoming a global icon.
Year Released: 2020
Comme des Garçons has made what is usually considered mundane—black and white color schemes–feel special. Its trio of 95s from 2020 is a good example of that practice. While some may say CDG’s approach is lazy, the look did the retro runner justice. There were tonal black and white options. The third styling, which was also the best, was a mixture of black, grey, and cream that took full advantage of the 95’s signature layered upper. Branding was kept to a minimum—just a CDG hit on the heel. For the CDG naysayers, there were also subtle differences that set this pair apart like exposed foam padding and imperfect suede overlays that extend past their usual panels. We like them because they make you more inclined to wear them without worrying about dirtying them up. These get better with age. Despite the well-executed collab, it still falls short when standing toe-to-toe with a lot of other pairs from the 95 archive. —Mike DeStefano
Year Released: 2004
It’s hard to argue that the “Olympic” Nike Air Max 95 that dropped in 2004 has aged well. That’s not to say that it looks terrible now, but its design is very much a captive of its time. And in its time, it was a big deal. You can still visualize the Baby Milo hoodies it was matched with for WDYWT forum posts. The Air Max 95 was part of a three-shoe pack that included a silver-toed Air Force 1 and all-gold Dunk High—all of which were semi-limited and fairly coveted at the time. As the Athens Olympics proceeded, and the sneakers associated with USA Basketball became something to forget, this pack emerged as Nike’s most memorable footwear of the competition. By the time the 2008 Beijing Olympics rolled around, the brand had elevated the Games to a showcase for innovation, but this Air Max 95 serves as an artifact of the brand’s Olympic history. —Zac Dubasik
Year Released: 2003
We don’t have to pretend like the reception of these shoes hinges too greatly on its fans being legit fans of Juventus FC. Look, if you are a supporter of the club, there are special accents to make the shoe stand apart, like the two stars on the tongue signifying the more than 20 Serie A championships the Italian team had won when these came out in 2003. (It was a good time to be a Juventus fan—the squad also won the league that year.) Even if you don’t care about football, it’s a strong colorway with a Swoosh not too far from the original “Neon” and a colorblocking set up reminiscent of the original “Black Border” 95. —Brendan Dunne
Year Released: 1995
There are black-based gradient Air Max 95s and-white based Air Max 95s. The Slate is obviously the latter. For some, including Joe La Puma, these shoes aren’t as important. But even Joe admits how good these are, even if they look like something suburban moms go walking in. And it kind of is. There’s a pic of Nicole Kidman wearing a pair, while running with Tom Cruise, who’s wearing “Neon” 95s. They just look so sporty.
Year Released: 1995
There’s something awesome about what brands did with women’s-specific colorways in the ‘90s. It was almost a cheat code for collectors with a small enough foot that wanted to stick out from everyone else. The “Grape” colorway of the ‘95s is just that. It’s an original from 1995 and has since been retroed. It even got flipped into a “Black Grape” colorway for men in 2010. But this one is way better. Is it better than the Slates? That’s a big discussion we had on staff, but we’re giving this one the nod for now. —Matt Welty
Year Released: 2002
It’s a mother-fricking Monster! A lot of people don’t know about this shoe, but they should. It’s one of the earliest and boldest 95s that diverged from the typical gradient color schemes. It’s still a gradient, though, with all shades of green and a brown outsole. It looks like Godzilla overtook the “Neon 95.” And it has a huge bubble on it. Ah, the good old days. There’s a reptile print on the upper, the first time that Nike had used that on a 95. There’s also a white Monster pair, but the drink is better than the sneaker. I remember being on NikeTalk and all the serious Air Max collectors had these. It was a shoe that you just couldn’t go buy, but a grail you had to hunt down. We need more of that. —Matt Welty
Year Released: 2023
This is a modern classic. This is what Nike needs to be doing more of, in my opinion. Less bringing back classics, more new grails. Corteiz, ran by Clint 419, is a London brand that understands the 95 because the shoe is a cultural mainstay there. They did three pairs of the shoes in 2023, each with a crazy IRL release attached to them. Whether it was people running through the streets of New York City or surfing on the top of buses in Paris, it made news. The best, to me, is the green pair—it reminds me a lot of the “Monster” Nike Air Max 95, which I love. The black/pink is good, too. We didn’t need the the blue, but I’m not mad at it, either. There’s a yellow on the way, too. It’s like Nike is flipping the Corteiz in the same way they did the original gradient pairs by using different accent colors, which is cool to see. —Matt Welty
Year Released: 1998
The “Neon” is the one, but when it comes to other gradient colorways, the red pair is its huckleberry. These weren’t an original Nike Air Max 95 release. But rather they came out around ‘98, when Nike started to make the gradient in different flavors. This is, in my opinion, the “Royal” to the “Neon” 95 as the “Bred” 1s. The 1A. Some might argue that it’s “Safety Orange” instead, and they’re not wrong. I think those could be on this list, too. But drop this shoe a thousand times, and it will sell out each time. Also, The Game rapped about these shoes and told people that he’d kill you if you tried him for his Air Max 95s. Solid enough of a co-sign for me. —Matt Welty
Year Released: 2013
If you don’t understand what makes this shoe special, that’s fine. If you are looking at the image here and thinking it’s just another “Neon” Nike Air Max 95, we get it. But, to employ an idiom that is far past hackneyed at this point but still totally fitting: if you know, you know. This subtle tweak on the Air Max 95, done by Japanese shop Mita in 2013, makes real a long-lost sample of the original “Neon” colorway. There’s an old photo of 95 designer Sergio Lozano sitting at his desk at Nike HQ with a couple early versions of the shoe on his desk, one of them flooded out with black on the insides and on the tongue. Did it make for a substantially different shoe? Not really. Was it nonetheless a part of Air Max mythology, the type of sample most would only encounter in photographs and never in real life? Totally. That was, until Mita had Nike issue the more black-tinted 95 for the first time ever. This is a real connoisseur’s choice when it comes to 95s and a total unicorn—even though the shoe actually exists beyond Lozano’s desk now, it’s still super rare to come by. —Brendan Dunne
Year Released: 2008
Piet Parra’s signature color palette looks good on pretty much any sneaker, but one of the best executions of all time is this Air Max 95 from 2008. The 95’s layered upper was the perfect canvas for the Dutch artist’s bold blue, pink, and red scheme. An Air Max 90 by Misha Hollenbach and Cortez by Todd James rounded out the “Running Man” pack, but both pale in comparison to Parra’s contribution. Other 95 collabs have remained more coveted over the years, but this one is also worthy of grail status. Considering that Nike still works with the artist to this day, we wouldn’t mind seeing this one get taken out of the vault for a retro in the near future. —Mike DeStefano
Year Released: 1995
Gradient colorway? Check. Bright accent colors? Check. Flashy reflective bits? Check. The original “Comet Red” colorway of the Air Max 95 has a lot of the same elements that make the “Neon” so good, but applies them in different ways. This shoe puts the black on top, letting the fade fall down to white on the upper and finishing it off with a white sole unit. That setup was never as popular on the Nike Air Max 95 as the gradient used for the “Neon,” but it still hits hard. How hard? Nike made a damn jet to look like the shoe. Doesn’t get much flyer than that. —Brendan Dunne
Year Released: 2003
Was there a story behind the colorway of Atmos’ first Air Max 95 collab? Was it inspired by a photo of purple flowers found in a box in the corner of the basement of the retailer’s first storefront location? Was it strictly for the ACG vibes? Anything is possible (although the flower picture thing seems unlikely), but if there ever was a story, it never made its way into the annals of sneaker history. Its “Viotech” nickname likely comes from the color of the lace loops—a shade that was also seen on the Swoosh of Atmos’ same-named 2003 Air Max 1 collab. What undoubtedly has survived though is the fact that this sneaker looks about as cool as a sneaker can possibly look—and sometimes that’s all that’s needed. It’s a reminder of a time when every collaborative sneaker didn’t need convoluted theming. While Atmos has shut down its US operations, it’s still going overseas—which gives us hope that a retro of this Japan-exclusive could still materialize in the future. —Zac Dubasik
Year Released: 2006
Other than utilizing the ample color blocking opportunities offered by the human body-inspired design of the original silhouette, Atmos’ “Beast” collaboration on the Air Max 95 shares little in common with the gradient-based looks we all know and love. Yet it’s still become one of the most well-known and beloved variations of the shoe. “More-is-more” can go terribly wrong when it comes to sneaker designs, but this wild combination of prints and materials was an instant hit when it dropped in 2006. It was such a hit, in fact, that a 2.0 variation returned in 2018 for Air Max Day alongside a similar Air Max 1 (also a remix of a 2006 shoe). Thanks to being hard to differentiate at a glance, and the risk of the originals falling apart when worn, the return was a success, and helped to carry on the legacy of the original. —Zac Dubasik
Year Released: 2006
Remember when sneaker collabs didn’t need complicated stories to sell? The “Blue Pack” series of Nike remixes by New York City graff writer Stash wasn’t accompanied by some long-winded copy about the exact significance of each pantone in the colorway. You didn’t need all that explanation; once you saw the shoe you could just feel it. Stash knew the 95 well enough to keep the gradient theme intact, but his version reads more moody. There are more cloudy, concrete greys. There are blues up top—one in suede and one in a proprietary Nike waterproof material. There is a galaxy of blue speckles on bottom, the kind you might imagine would accumulate after a long day of tapping aerosol cans. Stash established his own distinctly recognizable look with his Nike work from the 2000s, reimagining retro models in a wash of tonal blues. That approach on the Air Max 95 made the shoe a grail, and one of the first important collaborations for the sneaker. —Brendan Dunne
Year Released: 1995
This is the one. Close your eyes and picture a Nike Air Max 95 and this is the shoe that will pop up. It’s just not up for debate. This is the foundational colorway of one of the all-time great Air Maxes, a sneaker that’s been welcomed as a retro time and time again. When you talk about the Nike Air Max 95, you have to talk about this version. Where previous marquee Air Max models sought to overload their silhouettes with bold colors—think the original red Air Max 1 or the “Infrared” Air Max 90—the 1995 Air Max did something different. The shoe built its most recognizable colorway mostly off a lack of color, shading the upper with a gradient going from grey up top to black on bottom. The shoe still had color, but in restrained doses: the lace loops pulsing with neon, the small Swoosh flashing against the grey backdrop, the colored Air units looking like candy-apple Jolly Ranchers. We’re happy the Air Max 95 has lived a long life that’s involved many creative flips on the foundation, but we’re even happier that the original still gets to shine with a retro every few years. —Brendan Dunne
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