Nike Air Liquid Max ‘Black/Chrome/Green Apple’ Release Date IQ7634-001

After a first look courtesy of rapper Yeat in a February music video, Nike’s futuristic new Air Max sneaker has been officially unveiled.

The Beaverton, Ore.-based sportswear brand’s latest entry into its long-running Air Max franchise is the Air Liquid Max. Nike touts that the new model builds on four decades of Air Max innovation with a new cushioning setup and an eye-catching upper design. 

Like the Air VaporMax from 2017, the Air Liquid Max’s underfoot setup is intended to give the wearer the feeling of walking on Air, updated with nearly a decade of new learning. The Air Liquid Max’s tech is described as point-loaded Air, a cushioning unit which is both flexible and low to the ground and is placed only in the underfoot areas where it’s most needed. Nike says the remainder of the cored-out midsole’s negative space sheds weight while also emphasizing the Air Liquid Max’s unique shape.

“Air Max is as much about iterating and innovating as it is about consistently creating the future of Nike sportswear. The Air Liquid Max is a testament to Nike design excellence and tenacity — and a reminder that when we enhance and improve the Air experience, we also get to inspire Nike designers to deliver something entirely new,”  Andy Caine, VP and creative director of Nike Sportswear, said in a press release announcing the new sneaker.

Beyond its signature Air bubble, the Air Liquid Max has an upper that’s also designed to stand out. It uses a three-layer textured printing method capable of blending vivid colors and takes inspiration from the poison dart frog. This reference is magnified on the model’s launch colorway: a vibrant mix of Black/Chrome/Green Apple/Volt/Radiant Green/Clear.

“From far away, the upper looks very unified. But as you get closer, you see the three layers of printing at various heights, adding a lot of tactility that’s surprising to the touch,” Marya Chan, lead material designer for the Air Liquid Max, said.

In addition to the Air Max Day launch colorway, an Air Liquid Max collaboration has been previewed by Fragment Design founder Hiroshi Fujiwara and is also expected to be released soon.

The Nike Air Liquid Max will be released on March 26 on the brand’s Snkrs app and from select Nike Sportswear retailers. The style code for the debut colorway is IQ7634-001 and the sneaker will retail for $230.