Nike Air Max 97 La Silver Release Date

The Italian release of the Nike Air Max 97 La Silver is making a return for the 2016 holiday season, which is just in time for the silhouette’s 20th anniversary.

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Earlier this year, Nike reissued an Italy-exclusive release of the Nike Air Max 97 OG, and now they’re set to have a wider release.

With the 20th anniversary of the Nike Air Max 97 looming — and ahead of more Italy-exclusive celebrations to follow last month’s limited re-releases — some of those who were there from the start share their memories and thoughts on the now iconic silhouette.

MICHELA GATTERMAYER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ELLE (1989-2004)
“I have to admit that I first found them horrendous. But that kind of fascinating horrendous: brutto-bello. Freaks. Their aesthetic was totally outside of our visual vocabulary. At the time sneakers were worn very infrequently in fashion.”

SHA RIBEIRO, PHOTOGRAPHER
“As a graffiti writer it was cool because you could get a photo taken of yourself with a flash in front of a piece in a tunnel and you’d be all covered up but there was a crazy glare coming from your shoes. They made you feel like you were doing some space age stuff when you went out at night.”

RICCARDO BALLI, DJ
“I can remember that you had kids turning up wearing AM97s for both the hip-hop and the hardcore nights. As an observer from the decks I thought that the AM97s were much better suited to the hardcore scene where everybody had a very clean look, was very aerodynamic, with their shaved heads and 180 + BPM music and their whole cult of synthetic velocity.”