NIKElab and comme des garçons present new air vapormax sneaker

yesterday saw the launch of the first pair of sneakers from NIKE’s latest collaboration with the japanese fashion house comme des garçons, and a second design is set to drop tomorrow. the NIKElab and comme des garçons collection was previewed back in october without a set release date, but the anticipated drop coincides conveniently with 2017’s new york fashion week fall/ winter 2017. 

the next pair to hit stores will be the comme des garçons x NIKElab air vapormax—a new style premiering with this collaboration almost a year after nike previewed the model last march. the air vapormax builds on the design of the celebrated air max 1 runner, a shoe that was reportedly influenced by the architect renzo piano’s centre georges pompidou in paris. the idea of the air max is to show an interior air bubble through a clear window in the sole of the shoe. this year, the classic model celebrates its 30th birthday. 

whilst previous air bubbles had to be insulated by a rubber layer for protection, the vapormax combines the air bubble and exterior layer and attaches the whole unit to the flyknit body of the shoe to produce a more responsive design. the collaboration from NIKElab and comme des garçons sees the sneaker rendered a slip-on, with a monocrome color palette and minimalist design.