The Nike Air Max 97 ‘Black Olive’ Stays Undefeated

2022 marks some major anniversaries in the sneaker sphere, one being the 25th birthday of the Nike Air Max 97. While industry whispers are already suggesting the likely return of the model’s OG colourways, the Swoosh will also be pulling out the stops for a slew of additional makeups that will only grow in presence. One example is the ‘Black Olive’ pictured above, that not only riffs off familiar AM97 features, but also has similarities with a coveted collaboration.

A quarter of century since its debut, the AM97 is purely a lifestyle play for Nike, which enables the model to venture into some materials typically reserved for casual use. Here, it’s the presence of grainy olive leather on the mudguard, which gives the usually synthetic upper a premium touch. This deviation is reeled back in with more catalogue correct specifications of black mesh and striking orange reflective, before being sandwiched once more with olive mesh. Some may see parallels to the UNDEFEATED colab that dropped right at the end of 2020, but this inline edition claims its territory with much more orange.

Keep an eye out for this Nike Air Max 97 which is set to hit retailers later this year – it definitely won’t be the only colourway that’s emerging in 2022.