Forget about hot girl summer; we want a hot sneaker summer. Luckily, Nike seems to have pre-empted the request of countless sneaker fans worldwide and is releasing a red hot colourway for the Nike Air Max 1, the “Chili Pepper” colourway.
Nike Air Max 1 “Chili Pepper”
These gorgeous sneakers sport a colourway that includes White, Chili Red, Metallic Silver, Neutral Grey, Sail and Fir. Starting at the bottom of the sneakers, the outsole is tri-coloured, sporting three of the primary colours of the colourway on the rubber outsole, including White, Chili Red and Black.
The Sail-coloured Max Air cushioned midsole is a perfect base for the rest of the sneaker to rest on, with its chunky nature extending further towards the back of the sole and displaying the beloved Max Air unit within the heel of the sneakers.
From there, the upper is a smattering of white mesh for the underlayers, grey premium leather for many overlays, split by the silver crinkled leather that bisects the sneaker. The chili red from which the sneakers earned their name appears on the Swooshes on the sides and on the top plastic eyelets, both of which feature black speckled details that add a necessary layer of intrigue to the otherwise relatively plain sneakers.
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Custom branding has been used throughout the sneakers to denote their brand and nature. The tongue label remains the same as other pairs in the collection, while the branding on the spine has been switched out for a cheekier option. The NIKE branding on the heel is in black and in a font reminiscent of most Nike sneakers, but the I of Nike has been replaced by a chilli pepper, which is a brilliant touch.
The insoles of the sneakers have also been customised with similar branding as the heel, including the logo with the chilli pepper on the left insole, while “it’s in the sauce” is proudly written inside the right shoe.
What We Love About Them
The choice to have a majority of white sneakers with some red hot elements might be simple, but we love what Nike has done with this tasty design. Adding a few cheeky elements that are a touch more playful than the sneakers they might usually create is a great choice. However, the designers of this pair managed to do so while still maintaining the sophisticated air of the sneakers.
The custom branding of certain elements, the crinkled silver leather overlays, and the design choice of adding speckles and intrigue to the red-hot elements of the sneakers were brilliant.
These sneakers are suave, sophisticated, and cheeky, so we love them.
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Release Date & Price
While I’m sure we are all looking forward to these beautiful sneakers, we don’t have an exact release date to look forward to. Thanks to sources like Soleretriever, we do at least know that these sneakers will be hitting shelves during the Summer of 2024.
While a concrete release date hasn’t been shared, we do know that these kicks will be arriving in Men’s sizing for a retail price of around $160 and that they will be made available to the public via Nike, SNKRS, and other select retailers, both online and in-store.
Get ready to add these sneakers to your collection for a hot sneaker summer.
Are you adding these Nike Air Max 1 “Chili Pepper” sneakers to your summer collection?
