One of the most exciting drops from Nike’s “Cult Classics” series is the return of the OG Air 180 “Ultramarine.”
First released in 1991, the Air 180 was designed by Tinker Hatfield and Bruce Kilgore with the goal to make the visible air technology as visible as possible. The idea was to create an Air bag that wrapped 180 degrees around the outsole from lateral to medial, hence the name Air 180.
There have been plenty retros of the Air 180 before, though previous iterations have never been faithful to the original. They were always off in terms of shape, proportion, and even naming, as the retros were called Air Max 180 instead of their original name.
This 2024 retro will mark the first time that the Air 180 will return in its true OG form. One of the biggest gripes of OG heads is that the airbags on the retros were always too small when compared to 1991 OG. This has been remedied in the 2024 retro. Similar to how Nike brought back the OG specs of the Air Max 1 with the Air Max 1 ’86, the Air 180 has been remastered and given its own “Big Bubble” moment.
To achieve this remaster, Nike Senior Footwear Designer Leon Witherow and his team took an OG Air 180 from 1991 from its archive and did a 3D internal and external scan. This gave the Nike engineers insight into how the OG pair was crafted, allowing them to recreate the OG design stitch-for-stitch.
The first Air 180 colorway to get this remastered treatment is the “Ultramarine,” which was the first colorway to hit shelves when the model debuted in 1991. Nike has also confirmed that the “Concord” Air 180 will be returning later this year.
The Nike Air 180 OG “Ultramarine” drops May 24th on SNKRS and at select retailers. Grab a preview of the remastered pair below.
Nike Air 180 OG “Ultramarine”
Color: White/Ultramarine-Solar Red
Style Code: FJ9259-100
Release Date: May 24, 2024
Price: $150 USD
Resell: StockX
Official Images:
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