
After revealing a new name via a Supreme collaboration, Nike will soon test the waters with a once-obscure Air Max sneaker getting inline releases.
The Nike Air Max Ecstasy Plus “Triple Black” and “Metallic Silver” will usher in a new era for the shoe previously known as the Air Max 2000. A relatively minimalist build defines the sneaker, as a plush mesh base features sweeping horizontal overlays made out of TPU. Branding is dialed down through a small Swoosh at the lateral toe and an even smaller hit on the tongue.
Further intrigue can be found through an abundance of shapes including pills down the tongue and vamp and a pair of trapezoids on the heel. A series of five circles at the midsole’s lateral heel also denotes the shoe’s origins, as the mark was used for all Nike’s sneakers from its Alpha Project initiative.
Despite having such robust archives, Nike hasn’t had a tremendous amount of success in the retro running craze that’s defined this decade. The Vomero 5 had a solid run a few years ago, and Air Max models including the Air Max 1, Air Max 90 and Air Max 95 have been regarded as classics long before the craze. But there’s still a void in the area where New Balance and Asics have done so well, which Nike appears to be trying to fill with this year’s reissuing of the Zoom Skylon 11 and Zoom Streak 3.
The Air Max 2000 first arrived a year into the Project Alpha line after its launch on New Year’s Day 1999. Hitting multiple sports, Project Alpha had an especially concerted approach to innovation combined with futuristic aesthetics, the output of which had more endurance most on the Air Presto, Air Flightposite, Shox BB4 and Air Kukini.
The Nike Air Max Ecstasy Plus “Triple Black” and “Metallic Silver” doesn’t yet have a confirmed release date in the U.S., but the shoes have begun popping up at overseas retailers. Expect both to drop before year’s end with pricing set at $190.







