[Update 21 Jul] The Nike Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air “Flesh” has undergone early release in select boutiques globally and will drop on Nike SNKRS on 28 Jul, 10:00PM EDT for US$180.

Artistic studies into the human form are extremely common. They can be viewed as flat mediums on paper and canvas, or three-dimensional mediums on clay, stone or metal sculptures. However, it’s not often you see an exploration into human anatomy on a sneaker, which is exactly what Nike did with their Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air collection.

The newest addition to this collection is the Nike Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air “Flesh”. This colourway cascades from a pure white laced upper, to Light Bone eyelets, then light to dark shades of red as the design descends into the “flesh” of the shoe. A light grey covers the toe box, while Light Bone covers the sole unit, wrapping up the whole design.

Each of these aspects have significance when compared to a body’s flesh – the eyelets which protrude from the subsurface of the upper represent ribs, while the overlapping layers of increasingly-dark red canvas represent the tendons (white) connecting the muscles (red) to the bones (Light Bone). If one is imaginative, the grey toebox that links the laced upper to the sole unit could even represent the ligaments that connect one’s bones together at joints. Even the stitch lines of the Air Max 95’s upper ties into the anatomy theme, representing the individual fibres of tendons, ligaments and muscles. The most obvious allusion to the “Flesh” name is present underfoot, where the outsole makes way for a literal image of flesh covering bone. Overall, the Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air “Flesh” is a fascinating representation of bodily function on a sneaker medium.

In other sneaker-related news, check out the other organ in the Air Max 95 Anatomy of Air collection, the “Skeleton”.