Air Max 270

The 270 is not a regular Air Max model. Nike had been adding to their line of visible Air running shoes for thirty years, and these shoes were quickly taken up by the general public. Up to this point though, Nike had never made an Air Max model specifically for the street. Never, that is, until 2018. That year saw the release of the Nike Air Max 270. The new model was revolutionary in the field of visible Air technology, and it captured the imagination of sports and fashion lovers looking for the Air Max 270 in mens, womens or the smaller kids and infant sizes. More than this, the 270 was the first Air Max edition to completely step away from the model’s origins as a running shoe. Changes to the Air unit technology were geared towards improving the shoe for lifestyle rather than sport purposes. Models of the Air Max 270 were meant solely as trainers. In that sense, this collection was a first. Since the 270 is a sneaker, anyone can wear them. Not just ladies, but also girls, boys and smaller children. Looking for grade school shoes and junior sizes, even baby shoes? The Air Max 270 Extreme is the one to go for. There’s another factor that makes the AM270 unique. It was inspired by two earlier Air Max models from the '90s. This retro influence was a smart move, with young people in the UK so interested in vintage style footwear. It wasn’t long before people were looking out for a sale, hoping to buy the 270 at a cheap price. One of the most noticeable aspects of the AM270 is its impressive outsole, which was made reality through a vintage merge. Nike designers dived into their sneaker and running shoe archive and returned with two classics. First, from 1991, they took the Air Max 180. The first model in the line where the Air unit made direct contact with the ground. Second, they took the Air Max 93, a running shoe whose Air unit curved along the entire back part of the sole. Then, the design team decided to combine these two icons, resulting in the Air Max 270.

Unlike many Nike models, the number doesn’t refer to a year. Instead, it refers to the amount of Air visible on the shoe. 270 stands for the 270 degrees around the back of the heel. This large Air unit has an impressive height of 32 millimetres. Combine that with varying upper materials, such as those used in the Air Max 270 React, Bowfin and SE, and you’ve got a sneaker that will turn heads. And that’s not even due to the colours, which will also catch your eye. Probably the best known of all colorways is the Light Bone, which is not to be mistaken for the Ocean Bliss. Its upper is a mix of black and white, and the Air unit has a reddish pink colour. This is similar to the University Gold, the Tiger and the Hot Punch, although this last one has a completely black upper. Moreover, there’s an Air Max 270 in Triple Black, or, on the other side of the spectrum, the Triple White, also known as the All White. In between these two is the Wolf Grey, with an entirely light grey upper and a coloured Air heel. Another interesting colourway you may have come across is the Dusty Cactus, which has black panels, white mesh on top and swooshes in turquoise. It may seem the colour is found mostly in the details or the outsole of the Nike Air Max 270, but that’s not always the case. Blue, red and neutral grey do also appear as the main colour of the shoe. Even neon yellow, seen in the Volt, and pink, in the Coral, are becoming common. And furthermore, several colourways, such as Olive Canvas and Midnight Navy, have been used in the trainer’s designing.

It’s in Nike’s DNA to push the boundaries. Part of that is trying out different materials, technologies and also designs coming from other shoes. This was how the Air Max 270 Premium was created, which uses top-shelf materials, and the same counts for several special editions under the name of Air Max 270 SE, including one with reflective panels on top. All together it resulted in some interesting submodels. The Air Max 270 Flyknit combined the big Air heel with the 2012 lightweight Flyknit technology, which opened up a whole new way of colouring, seen in the white and black speckles of the Oreo. The upper of the Air Max 270 Ispa is interesting as well. This is a mid or high model, has an outdoor look, and a little net spun around the outside. There’s also the Air Max 270 Futura, with an old-school upper and modern 270 outsole. One of the nicest combos must be the Jordan Mars 270. Nike brought back the Jordan basketball sneaker, giving it a heel with a 270 degree Air unit. Famous athletes, such as French football star Kylian Mbappe, well-known musicians and people from the world of fashion wear the Nike Air Max 270. There’s also a category with extraordinary exclusive releases. Here, Nike gives artists and other creative people the possibility to design sneakers of their own. Additionally, Nike added the AM270 to the ‘Just Do It’ pack’, that included white and black trainers with orange details. You can design a custom pair of your own as well, using Nike ID and add to the expanding universe of the Air Max 270.

Air Max 270 React

In the summer of 2019, something special appeared on the Nike drawing boards. Instead of going further with Air, the 270 design team decided to combine their legendary outsole with a recently developed technology in the form of a special kind of lightweight but highly durable foam called React. React is praised for the way it cushions the foot and saves energy. Adding this new technology to the AM270 resulted in the Nike Air Max 270 React, combining both the comfort of Air and the cushioning of React foam. The first model of the Air Max 270 React had a few recognizable colourways, including the Bauhaus, a design based on the famous German school for architecture from the first half of the 20th century. Later, more colours were featured, such as green and pink, often combined in vibrant colourways, like the turquoise Hyper Jade. More mellow styles were also brought to the range, such as the All Black and the beige Summit White. Because of all those bright colours, you may think it’s just a summer sneaker. Not necessarily. The Air Max 270 React WTR is thicker and water repellent, which also makes it perfect for the winter months. With the 270 React, foot size isn’t an issue, the technology was brought out for both men’s and women’s sizes, as well as toddler footwear, named Air Max 270 RT.

Air Max 270 React ENG

Slowly but surely the Air Max family expanded, with the 270 in 2018, followed by the submodel React, and in January 2020 Nike added a sub-submodel, named Engineerd. Going by the name of Nike Air Max 270 React ENG, it was fair to say that it was the successor of the 270 React. A model made to stand out. One look at the shoe immediately clarified that the update was a success. Again, we saw an eye-catching combination of React technology - the bouncy, cushioning foam - and the famous Air technology, as seen in the regular 270 React. New elements were found in the modernly designed, lightweight but firm, breathing upper. Fine-looking, wavy lines and panels - inspired by older Nike models like the Air Max Tailwind IV and the Air Max 120 - initially got vivid and bright colours. The first colourways of the Air Max 270 React Engineerd were inspired by the effect of light - how it keeps looking differently by its ability to play with reflection, radiation and breaking of the beams of light. It produced some impressive rainbow colours, like purple, pink and light blue. On the other hand, there were some calmer but tougher colourways with, for example, black, blue and green in it. Busy or more quiet shades, it all fitted the rearranged upper of the model well. Before it became clear that there would be a successor like the 270 React ENG, Nike and musician Travis Scott combined forces in December 2019 and built a (for that moment) remarkable version of the 270 React, which was mostly coloured in cream - beige-looking - and brown. Right away, that model caught the attention, of course because of the collaboration with Scott, but surely also because of its new appealing design. A design which later turned out to be an edition of the Air Max 270 react ENG.

Air Max 270 Bowfin

Slowly, the leaves on the trees started to turn orange and yellow. It was then, in September 2018, when Nike released an outdoor version of their beloved new Air Max model. They named it the Nike Air Max 270 Bowfin. The sneaker has a rugged outsole, giving it a lot more grip for walking on uneven surfaces. The Air Max 270 Bowfin features straps on the side of the upper where the laces are threaded, giving it a quick lace-up method. The upper part of the shoe is a mix of materials, ranging from mesh and textile to synthetic leather. The 270 Bowfin looks best when all of the parts have different colours. There is one colourway which is almost all brown, giving it an autumn-like feel, but also has little bright blue and broken white details. Another equally autumnal model has a soft yellow base colour. The Bowfin exudes the outdoors. Not only because of the colour. The sneaker has a tough look, largely because of its mid-height design. Although the Bowfin looks like a hiking boot, it is meant as a sneaker to wear on the streets. Shortly after the release in late 2018, Nike collaborated with London-based sneaker store Maharishi, giving the Bowfin an even tougher-looking camo print.

Air Max 270 SE

Not every Nike sneaker gets the SE treatment. The two letters stand for special edition, and come with exclusivity. An SE is a rare type of shoe that rocks materials that you most rarely encounter. Only the biggest, most successful models get this special edition label, and the Nike Air Max 270 SE is one of them. What makes an SE special? Firstly, remarkable materials and unusual prints. Nike designers aren’t afraid of experimenting, and a few versions of the Air Max 270 SE can prove that. Take a look at the Floral colourway, for example, with flower print on the back heel and the pull tag attached to it. Or the Reflective, which doesn’t look that unique at first glance, with its black design and red Air unit, but shining a bright light on it in the dark surprisingly reveals reflective safari print panels on the side. In other models, the mesh material is just a little bit different, either more rugged or smoother, and the colours, even on the Air unit heel, fade into one another. In the 270 React SE a woven, stitch-free upper came along, which resulted in a characteristic grid design. Not always as visible, but when you’d take a closer look, the fibers would reveal itself. It was so thin and lightweight that, in some colorways, you could see right through it. In short, the special editions of the Air Max 270 involve unusual, eye-catching, sometimes even provocative colourways, challenging traditional ideas of design.