Nike’s Air Max 1000 are almost entirely 3D-printed

Nike’s new Air Max 1000 are the company’s first shoes manufactured almost entirely using 3D printing. Debuting at ComplexCon this past weekend in Las Vegas, Nike collaborated with Zellerfeld — a company that already has expertise in 3D printing shoes — to create the Air Max 1000, but they’re not currently available to the general public.

The Air Max 1000’s design is an updated take on the Air Max 1, which debuted in 1987 as Nike’s first shoe with an air cushion in the heel that was visible through a window in the midsole. That feature is carried forward to the new Air Max 1000, and although the air cushion itself isn’t 3D-printed, the rest of the shoe uses a single flexible material.

By mixing layers with varying densities and textures, the outsole on the bottom of the Air Max 1000 remains firm and supportive, while the upper parts of the shoe are more flexible and comfortable, allowing them to be slipped on and off without the need for laces.

The use of 3D printing also allowed Nike to realize the Air Max 1000’s unique contoured design, which the company says would have been impossible using traditional shoe manufacturing techniques. “As an innovator, what’s most exciting to me about the Air Max 1000 are the new solutions we can achieve with next-level manufacturing,” says John Hoke, Nike’s Chief Innovation Officer.

Nike originally announced the Air Max 1000 in a solid bright red colorway, but influencers at the event later revealed additional colors of the shoe, including orange, white, blue, and black with a green air cushion. And while Nike distributed a small number of pairs of the Air Max 1000 at the event, wider availability was limited to 1,000 pairs that attendees could win the chance to preorder, according to Elliot Page, who also shared a brief video review of the shoes.

The Air Max 1000 aren’t the first time Nike has used 3D printing to make shoes. In 2017, the company debuted its VaporFly Elite Flyprint with a lighter and more breathable fabric material it claimed was the “first 3D-printed textile upper in performance footwear.” Other companies, such as Adidas, already sell shoes with 3D-printed midsoles. But like Nike, Adidas is also experimenting with shoes made entirely from 3D-printed materials, including its new Climacool24 that debuted in October.