After last year’s infamous ISPA Road Warrior, Nike’s newest iteration of the Air Max is set to once again borrow inspiration from Mad Max: Fury Road for a futuristic, forward-thinking bricolage of design elements from throughout the Air Max line’s history.
The centerpiece of George Miller’s 2015 action masterpiece is the characters’ massive, aggressive vehicles, all of which are constructed from the toughest elements of other scrapped cars to make intimidating and awe-inspiring new rides. The Women’s Nike Air Max Furyosa – which quite obviously shares a name with Fury Road’s badass female lead, Imperator Furiosa – uses an oversized mesh upper with clashing overlays and a beefy split midsole tooling to stand out from the crowd of modern Air Max releases. Like Fury Road’s cars, the Air Max Furyosa represents a mutated collection of welded-together design elements from some of the best parts of previous Air Max models that form an entirely new shoe.
If one is looking for further Fury Road references, they’re extremely easy to find – the shoe’s double-stacked Air Max 1 and Air Max 94 air units are reminiscent of the double-layered rear chassis seen in Fury Road’s primary villain car, The Gigahorse. Likewise, the plentiful hits of silver and chrome across the Air Max 98-style mudguard recall the characters’ religious devotion to chrome spray paint. Finally, the wraparound lacing system and open, split midsole and wraparound Nike ReGrind outsole nods to the same recycled, haphazard, tough-as-nails aesthetic that inspired the ISPA Road Warrior. The shoe is finished off with an Air Max 270-style toe cap and plenty of ankle support to keep you locked into your ride.
The Nike Air Max Furyosa is currently set to release via Nike Japan on June 8th for about $160 USD, though a global release will likely be announced soon. In the meantime, check out photos of the model down below.
Update: The Air Max Furyosa launches globally on June 8th, including via SNKRS in the US.
WMNS Nike Air Max Furyosa “Silver and Black”
Color: Metallic Silver/Black-White-Sail
Style Code: DC7350-001
Release Date: June 8, 2021
Price: $160 USD
