Steven Henry, a British photographer, once said that when he died, he hoped to lie in one. Nike In the coffin of Air Max.

In August 7th, at the Nike SNKRS ON event in Beijing, Henry saw one for him. Design Such a coffin, Nike Air Max is the latest model. Gym shoes Air Max 1 Ultra Flyknit designer, Ben Yun.

BenYun, a Chinese American Hybrid designer from the US, has been a sports designer for Nike for over ten years. In the past three years, most of the efforts of Ben Yun have been placed on the Air Max 1 Ultra Flyknit, which just launched in July 28th.

"Redesigning Air Max1 is a big challenge," Ben said. "Because Air Max 1 is very classic, many people like OG version design, we want to upgrade, but we can not change too much."

The new Air Max 1 is integrated into Nike's Flyknit material introduced in 2012 (Flyknit is a technology of producing single layer woven upper with a single polyester yarn), which is said to be the lightest Air Max 1 shoes for Nike.

Ben Yun told reporters that it is not easy to integrate Flyknit material into Air Max 1. "Consumers already know what these shoes look like. Therefore, it takes a lot of energy and time to redesign these shoes. I need to use new technology on the one hand, and let these shoes be made of Air Max 1 on the one hand."

In Air MaxUltra Flyknit 1, in addition to using the open Flyknit Flyknit structure in toe and tongue, and providing more support with seamless technology, it further improves permeability by punching holes in the shoe position. The multi-layer closed structure extending from the middle of the upper to the heel provides enough support for both feet.

Ben Yun introduces that one of the purposes of designing this sneaker is to make the people wearing it more comfortable. "The fabric we use is very soft, using seamless stitching technology, and the yarn composition of Flyknit can also be adjusted by programming. The density and elasticity can be guaranteed, which can not only ensure breathability, but also maintain comfort."

"We hope to make these shoes suitable for everyone, just like a pair of gloves. We are not only designed for sports people, not just for people to wear for 1 hours, but for people to wear for 10 hours. "

Wearing shoes for 10 hours every day must not only appear in sports occasions, but also adapt to various occasions such as work, entertainment, leisure and so on. The appearance of those sports shoes must not be careless. For many people, Air Max 1 is no longer a simple sport shoes, but also a popular single product. In the years of design and evolution, Air Max has been focusing on sports functions and gradually incorporated more popular elements.

Guo Ze Ze, a 20 year old collector of Air Max, told reporters that she liked Air Max at first because of the value of this shoe, and Air Max was also an indispensable element in his everyday wear.

Therefore, in the design, in addition to taking into account the use and comfort of the technology elements, Ben also added a variety of colors to the Air Max 1 Ultra Flyknit, with seven colors.

Like Guo Tian Ze, BenYun herself is also a fan and collector of Air Max. He recalled the first time he saw Air Max 1, and said, "I feel like these shoes are from outer space." Thirty years ago, Tinker Hatfield, a Nike designer, inspired by the Pompidou Art Center of France, designed the first Air Max 1, a source of visual air cushion, which opened a new and classic sneaker line.

In nearly 30 years of history and more than 20 versions of research and development, AirMax has been an experimental field for Nike's new technology. According to the report that "Air Max" is not going to be "popular single product", in 1993, Nike removed the foam materials between the outsole and the unit, resulting in Air Max's first pair of shoes, Air Max 180 with a 180 degree large visual air cushion. In 1995, Air Max 95 first opened windows on the front foot, forming a separated air cushion for the front and rear palms; on 2006 Air Max 360, the split visual air cushion finally evolved into a full palm air cushion, which is a pair of running shoes with no bottom foam, and 360 degrees of air cushion layering, almost bringing the innovation of the visible air cushion to the extreme.

Guo Tian Ze said that although he had entered the collection pit due to the value of AirMax, Air Max's technological innovation in recent years made him more fascinated. "What attracts me most is the new technology. Nike is the combination of the classic shoe models and the latest technology, no matter what the Lunar shoes or the Flyknit materials are, so that the shoes are lighter and more comfortable."

Guo Tian Ze also mentioned that she can always be a follower of Nike, not only because Nike can provide very imaginative products, but also that Nike has created an atmosphere and service for sports construction. He said he not only wore Nike products, but also participated in training activities under Nike online and offline, especially Nike's Nike Training Club sports application.

"The services provided by Nike are quite comprehensive. There are small videos for practice in the application of NTC, which can be categorized according to the level of difficulty and can be clearly studied, and burning calories can be seen, which is very useful," said Guo Tian Ze. "I began to pay attention to other things from Nike's sneakers."

In order to commemorate the important role of Air Max, Nike officially set March 26th Air MaxDay every year in 2014. In 2017, Air Max is about to celebrate its 30 birthday. Sneakerhead has long been looking forward to what new products and ideas Nike will use to celebrate this classic sneaker. Ben Yun was asked about this question by many hosts at the event in China. Ben Yun smiled and said, "if I tell you, I will kill you."