The Palace x Nike Air Max 95 was always destined to slap

It's been six whole months since Palace officially linked up with Nike, and I've been waiting for this one specifically. Don't get me wrong, the Total 90 III was fun and the Air Max Dn8 was weird as hell (in the best way possible), but the Palace x Nike Air Max 95 is the pair. It's the one that actually means something, and it's the one I'm willing to pay lots and lots of resale for.

If you're feeling a little déjà vu (déjà shoe?), that's because co-founder Lev Tanju already soft-launched these on Insta last month. The photo was blurry, half-hidden, the kinda thing that leaves you guessing. But if you know what you're looking at, you know. Palace boys clocked what the silhouette was straight away.

Palace x Nike Air Max 95

Working on top of a breezy mesh base, the London streetwear label's AM95 is wrapped in smooth leather and decked out with a gradient that fades from ‘Black’ to ‘Metallic Silver’. While it looks pretty sick, it's also a nod to the legendary Air Max 97 ‘Silver Bullet’ – considered by many to be one of the GOATs. There's a bit of branding on the tongue badge and heel, and down below, the murdered-out sole is packed with big-ass Air bubbles for max comfort and bounce. The trainer's then covered in reflective 3M panels so you can flex even when it's dark out.

Just in case you didn't already know, the Air Max 95 has a deep-rooted place in UK street culture. From the late ’90s through to now, it's been one of those pairs that never really left – worn on high streets, outside corner shops, and everywhere in between. It carried a certain energy that other Air Maxs didn't quite have, especially up north, where it became part of the uniform. Palace tapping into that isn't random. It's tapping into something that's already there – and doing it properly. There's a reason the 95 was selected for England's World Cup sneaker.

Palace x Nike Air Max 95