There was a time, when Nike was still the nascent Blue Ribbon Sports, when track and field athletes faced difficulties funding their training and travel beyond their own university’s stadiums. Legendary founders Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman saw this and formed Athletics West—a group of 12 amateur athletes—including one Steve Prefontaine—who would go on to break several records, on the way to a gold medal. Thus, inadvertently changing the notion of competition and turning America into a “running nation”.

The titular Air Max 90 pays homage to the group while starting a new in-line seasonal collection called “Athletics East”.

White double-mesh forms the base layer of the shoe, adorned with multi-layered overlays. The aforementioned dressed in a tonal grey nubuck leather, while the bottom layer forms the mudguard moving up to the quarter, evolving to the die-cut Swooshes on the profiles. The outer membrane, in a darker shade, traverses from the fore to to the lateral heel while framing the “AIR MAX” midfoot panel.

“University Blue” lays claim to the horizontally rigged eyestays with the same strip found on the heel tab. Further down is the “NIKE ATHLETICS EAST” imprint on the heel, in tandem with the denotations on the tongue tag, and in the insoles. Anchoring the whole design is the signature air bubble unit on the all-white midsole, supported by the greys of outsole underfoot.

No official word on a release date has been disclosed by the Swoosh. But with the year coming to a close, it’s safe to assume the tribute pair will arrive in early-2023.

While waiting, check out the incoming Air Jordan 1 Low WMNS “Ice Blue”.