Air Apparent: The Nike Air Max BW ‘Persian Violet’ Set for 2021 Retro

In unexpected yet very welcome news, rumours have begun circulating regarding a 2021 return of the Nike Air Max BW in its OG ‘Persian Violet’ colourway. This coincides with the 30th anniversary of the ‘Big Window’ runner – another classic Tinker Hatfield design.

The originator of this rumour is Air Max Instagram fan account bubblekoppe, who’ve previously correctly called retro releases such as the Air Max 90 ‘Laser Blue’ earlier this year. Therefore, the odds are looking good that the BW will indeed make its comeback next year.

Originally released in 1991 as just the Air Max (or Air Max IV, given it was the sequel to the AM90, aka Air Max III), its name was for a long time referred to as the Air Classic BW or Air Max Classic, before Nike tacked on the full Air Max Classic BW moniker a few years ago. It was an incremental update to the AM90, using the same Air sole unit, but more of it was shown, hence its ‘Big Window’ designation. Popular among Airheads, the BW was, and still is, the sneaker of choice for gabbers in the rave scene, and even inspired the username of a SF forum member back in the day (we see you, beedubs!)

Last seen in 2016 for its 25th anniversary, the ‘Persians’ released alongside other reissues like the ‘Marina’ and ‘Olympic’ (aka the ‘1996 Atlanta’). While only the purple heaters are expected so far, it definitely won’t be the only colourway hitting shelves in 2021. Colabs wouldn’t be out of the question either, as Skepta dropped an Air Max 97/BW hybrid back in 2018.

Stay tuned for developments on this rather exciting story.