Tune up, Tune in, Let Me Begin!
- Bradley Martinez
- Nov 24, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2020
The Nike AirMax Tn, Plus, Tuned Air, whatever you want to call it! Is one of the industries staple designs that was an instant classic when it dropped.
The shoe itself has a different name in different parts of the world! Released in 1998, and designed by Sean McDowell, the shoe was already unknowingly designed in Seans head before he joined the Nike family. He drew his inspiration one evening from the Florida beaches as the sky was turning to dusk, changing from light blue to dark.
After joining Nike in 1997, McDowell was set the challenge of designing the next running shoe for a Footlocker exclusive. At this time this wasn't really a thing (retailers getting exclusive models made for them) and even to this day isn't really done. It took 15 sketches of the model before both Nike and Footlocker gave them the go ahead. This was also the first Airmax to featured the Tuned air, where the shoe takes its name from.
The upper was the next tricky step. Sean was told that he will never be able to do the fading upper. He suggested making the upper out of a thin welded TPU which at first didn’t work. After going to Asia to see the sample he said they should try the same approach but with 3 different welds instead of one. 30 years have passed now and the TN has remained a massively popular and forward thinking shoe in the sneaker world.
The particular pair featured in these images is a Nike AirMax TN 15th anniversary (sample).
This mad pair with insane graphics on the box sleeve comes with a booklet talking about the Tuned Air series, featuring nearly all renditions of the model and the designers who made those sketches become a reality. Released pairs I believe came with this box but you were given either one colour or the other. In this instance this sample features both. (Left: Hyperblue/Right: Sunset)
I miss the days of the Nike Lab versions though!
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